Photo: Rickymouser45 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center sits on the south shore of Yaquina Bay in Newport’s South Beach neighborhood. It opened in the mid-1960s and is named for Mark O. Hatfield, the former Oregon governor and U.S. senator. Today the campus is shared with federal and state agencies, including NOAA and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and it runs a public visitor center.
An expansion with local backing
In the mid-2010s, OSU announced plans to expand teaching and research in Newport as part of its Marine Studies Initiative. The city of Newport and Lincoln County leaders supported the expansion, seeing it as a source of year-round jobs and students in a county where tourism dominates the economy.
Building in the hazard zone
The plan drew debate because the South Beach campus lies inside the tsunami inundation zone for a Cascadia earthquake. Some geologists argued the new building should go on higher ground. The university chose to build at the bayfront site and design the building as a vertical evacuation structure, engineered to survive the earthquake and the tsunami, with a raised refuge where people could go if they could not reach high ground in time.
The Gladys Valley Marine Studies Building opened in 2020. It holds classrooms, labs and offices, and it has become a reference point in Oregon for how to build when a site cannot be moved.
Visiting
The center’s visitor center has exhibits on marine research and local sea life. Check OSU’s site for current hours before you go. For the science behind the tsunami debate, read what researchers know about Cascadia.
Silas Kerrigan covers business, the tourism economy and household finance in Lincoln County.
