The City of Eugene has demolished a longtime public river viewpoint.
Since 1990, the Maurie Jacobs pedestrian overlook provided a standing area overlooking the Willamette River. The overlook was part of Maurie Jacobs Park behind the River House Outdoor Center.
According to permit data, work to tear down the overlook started Aug 24. By Aug 27, the city had demolished the overlook and just the pole that held it up remained.
Marion Suitor, spokesperson for the Eugene Public Works department, described the overlook as a victim of climate change. She said since the overlook was installed, the Willamette River handles higher water volumes at higher speeds than it did in the '90s, and the overlook wasn't built to withstand those pressures rendering it no longer safe to stand on.
Those changes, plus river migration and concerns over ADA accessibility, led the city to close public access to the overlook in 2022 and tear it down.
Suitor said the city has no plans to replace the overlook because a replacement would need to have a stronger footing and the city would need to armor the riverbank. She said the permitting, design and construction for such a project in the "highly regulated environment of the Willamette River" would be too expensive for the city to pursue.
Suitor said Eugene residents looking for Willamette River viewing points could use the adjacent small beach, the Greenway Bike and Pedestrian Bridge a half mile downriver, or the developing Downtown Riverfront Park.
The overlook and the park were both named for local civil leader Maurie Jacobs, the prominent furniture retailer who started M.Jacobs. The River House Beach in Maurie Jacobs Park provides some of the best pedestrian access to the Willamette River in Eugene. The popular park serves as the site of the annual Polar Plunge Special Olympics fundraiser, plays and allowed food trucks two summers ago.
Alan Torres covers local government for the Register-Guard. He can be reached byemail at [email protected], on X @alanfryetorres or on Reddit at u/AlfrytRG.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Why Eugene tore down a beloved river overlook, won't replace it