University Park falls in the South University Neighborhood (SUN), which is located south of the University of Oregon in South Eugene. SUN takes the approximate shape of a 6 block by 8 block rectangle (0.5 miles by 0.6 miles). Like many of the neighborhood’s nodes, University Park falls on an edge, drawing visitors from neighborhoods surrounding SUN in South Eugene.
On this map, the neighborhood’s approximate edges are represented by the orange dotted lines. SUN’s Hilyard Street border is an edge because it separates the neighborhood from the area surrounding the South Eugene High School campus, which includes a few restaurants and stores, the YMCA, the school’s sports fields, and apartment complexes for University students. The 18th street edge is where the University of Oregon campus begins. Agate Street is not quite as clear a border. It, like 18th and Hilyard, is a semi-busy street and runs North-South, connecting 24th Avenue and the residential area in the southeast corner of the map with a road North of campus (not pictured) that runs East-West through Eugene. Agate separates SUN from another residential area but one that is hilly and more forested. 24th street is also relatively highly trafficked and serves as a border because on its Southern side, the school district, style of house, and parking rules are all different from SUN.
The neighborhood’s paths are its streets, sidewalks, and to a lesser extent, alleys. The internal street structure between 18th, 24th, Hilyard, and Agate are significantly quieter than these edge streets and are easy to use, on foot, by bike, or in a car. Between Hilyard and Agate, there are three key North-West paths: Alder, Harris, and University Streets. At 24th and Alder and 18th and Alder, the inflow of cars is blocked so that the enclosed stretch of Alder is arranged for bikers. This street runs all the way to the UofO. Harris, which used to have a bus stop, runs from the University down to 30th Avenue, where there is a cluster of stores. University Street is the closest Eugene, Oregon, gets to a main-line Philadelphia vibe. The street itself is wider than any of the others within the internal street system, because historically, it was where the streetcar ran. The houses on this row are larger and fancier than the others in the neighborhood, set up higher due to the slope, with large lawns out front. University Street leads from University Park straight up to the center of the UofO campus, and because there are no stop signs on that stretch, cars drive much faster giving the impression of a busier street. Its intersection with 24th at the southeast corner of the park therefore feels very central and makes the park even more of a node. University Park itself is an intersection of paths for foot traffic. The park’s angled paths connect 24th diagonally to University Street, inviting cross traffic from south of 24th to come through the park and up University Street to get to campus. These cross paths connect the northeast and northwest corners of the park to 24th, which connects the area’s neighborhood to one another.
These paths are popular with middle school students headed to Roosevelt MS, highschool students headed to South Eugene HS, and dog walkers who live in the neighborhood. The two schools are both positioned on the edge of SUN, drawing students from all over South Eugene. If the students live just East of SUN, they will often walk through SUN and through University Park to get to and from school. For college students and professors living on the other side of 24th use Alder Street and the University Park/University Street route to get through SUN to campus.
When the weather is nice, college students come down from campus to spend time at University Park. Groups of them hang out on the grass or play frisbee. During the summer, some (mostly young women) come to sunbathe or study on beach towels on the grass. During summer afternoons, the basketball court is often being used by young men (not always college students) in groups ranging in numbers from 2 to 15.
Slacklines are also quite popular at the park. Hippie young people, not necessarily college students, come to the park and set up their tightropes between trees and practice balancing. Others come and set up hammocks. There was a couple who would come and do yoga and balancing tricks together in the grass. One middle-aged man who lives up the street from me comes to the park in the early morning with his dog to do yoga in the grass. These people walk or drive to the University Park from all over Eugene.
Parents with young kids walk to the park, if they live in the neighborhood, and drive, if they live elsewhere in the city. Street parking is easy to come by (unless there’s a sporting event at the UofO. Young families will also walk to the park from Edison after school, or from the First Congregational Church preschool just next door. Families tend to come more or less all year round. Unless it is pouring rain, little kids always want playground time. The park is used regularly for parties, often little kid’s birthday parties, but also family celebrations where the adults chat by the pavilion and the kids play on the playground or on the court, and climb trees.
Quite recently, within the last month, a new group has taken to using University Park as a node. Black Lives Matter marchers have gathered there a handful of times, staring at around 6:30pm. They warm up, practice their chants, mill around, and test their equipment until the time comes for them to march to city hall downtown. Having parked at University Park, they return around 10pm to the park, having amassed a larger number. They likely chose University Park because it is close to campus, and therefore an easy place for students to rendez-vous.
An iconic landmark in Eugene as a whole, which can be seen well throughout the South University Neighborhood, is Spencer Butte. The Butte, of which you have a clear view from the corner of 22nd and Potter and from my own living room window, sits just South of Eugene. The neighborhood's other landmarks include Central Lutheran Church, First Congregational Church, and Edison Elementary. These three are all large building complexes that interrupt the houses which otherwise fill the neighborhood. Additionally, Central Lutheran rings an hourly bell which can be heard throughout the neighborhood.
Aside from University Park, there is one other major node: the Agate Street and 19th Avenue intersection, which has the neighborhood’s other park, Washburne Park, as well as many restaurants popular with college students and neighborhood residents of all ages. During sporting events at the University, which draw people from throughout Eugene, this area’s sit down restaurants, grab ‘n’ go restaurants, dessert shops, and playground become quite busy. Although events have come to a halt during Covid, this area remains a stretch of popular local businesses and pleasant outdoor space. Once, an elderly man gave a spontaneous marimba concert. There is a farmer’s market that sets up there. Students often celebrate the last day of school at the ice cream shop, Prince Puckler’s, on this strip. When Barack and Michelle Obama came to Eugene in 2008, they visited Prince Puckler’s on the corner of 19th and Agate, and the newspaper clippings are still up on the walls to prove it.