Astoria Column
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Astoria Column
| image = Astoria Column 2024.jpg
| image_size = 300
| caption = The Astoria Column in 2024
| location = Astoria, Oregon, U.S.
| nearest_city =
| coordinates = {{coord|46|10|53|N|123|49|03|W|display=inline,title}}
| architecture =
| built = 1926, {{Years or months ago|1926}}
| added = May 2, 1974
| refnum = 74001681
| governing_body =
}}
The Astoria Column is a tower in the northwest United States, overlooking the mouth of the Columbia River on Coxcomb Hill in Astoria, Oregon. Built in 1926, the concrete and steel structure is part of a {{convert|30|acre|adj=on}} city park called Astor Park.
The {{convert|125|ft|m|adj=on}}-tall column has a 164-step spiral staircase ascending to an exterior observation deck at the top.{{Cite web |title=The Astoria Column: Your visit to Astoria, Oregon starts here. |url=https://astoriacolumn.org/ |access-date=2024-07-14 |website=The Astoria Column |language=en-US}}
History
The tower was built in 1926 with financing by the Great Northern Railway and Vincent Astor, the great-grandson of John Jacob Astor, in commemoration of the city's role in the family's business history. Patterned after the Trajan Column in Rome (and Place Vendôme Column in Paris), the Astoria Column was dedicated on July 22, 1926.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=l7VWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LukDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5536%2C199138 |work=Eugene Guard |location=(Oregon) |title=Astoria to hold big celebration |date=July 9, 1926 |page=2}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cbFXAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uvMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6859%2C293169 |work=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington) |agency=Associated Press |title=Astoria Column, Coxcomb Hill |date=July 13, 1926 |page=7}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=orVWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LukDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6372%2C1096842 |newspaper=Eugene Guard |location=(Oregon) |title=The Column at Astoria |date=July 24, 1926 |page=4 }} Maintenance work was done in 1936."News and Comment", Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 37 no. 3. In 1974, the column was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.{{cite web
| title = Oregon National Register List
| publisher = State of Oregon
| url = http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/HCD/NATREG/docs/oregon_nr_list.pdf
| accessdate = 2008-08-19| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20080910052608/http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/HCD/NATREG/docs/oregon_nr_list.pdf| archivedate= 10 September 2008 | url-status= live}}
The murals that make up the column were refurbished in 1995 and a granite plaza was added in 2004.
The column was one of a series of monuments erected by Great Northern between 1925 and 1926.{{cite journal |title= The Columbia River Historical Expedition: The Achievement and Its Promise |first= F. G. |last= Young |journal= Oregon Historical Quarterly |volume= 27 |number= 3 |date= September 1926 |pages= 292–294 |publisher= Oregon Historical Society |jstor= 20610354}}
Details
File:The Astoria Column at Astoria, Oregon - NARA - 520101.tif|left]]
The {{convert|125|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall}} column stands atop {{convert|600|ft|m|adj=on}} Coxcomb Hill and includes an interior spiral staircase that leads to an observation deck at the top.Corning, Howard M. Dictionary of Oregon History. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956. The spiral sgraffito frieze on the exterior of the structure has a width of nearly {{convert|7|ft|spell=in}} and a length of {{convert|525|ft}}. Projected by Electus D. Litchfield and painted by Attilio Pusterla,{{cite book |last1=Perez |first1=Andrea Larson |title=Astoria |date=2016 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-1-4671-1647-3 |page=64 |language=en}} the mural shows 14 significant events in the early history of Oregon, as well as 18 scenes from the history of the region, including Captain Gray's discovery of the Columbia River in 1792 and the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The frieze starts with the "pristine forest" and concludes with the arrival of the railway in Astoria.{{cite web |title=Artwork of the Column |url=https://astoriacolumn.org/artwork/ |website=astoriacolumn.org |publisher=Friends of the Astoria Column |accessdate=2020-02-01}}
Constructed of concrete, its foundation is {{convert|12|ft|spell=in}} deep.{{cite web|url=http://www.astoriacolumn.org/|title=The Astoria Column|year=2007|publisher=Friends of the Astoria Column, Inc.|accessdate=2008-08-19| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20080816044805/http://www.astoriacolumn.org/| archivedate= 16 August 2008 | url-status= live}} Built at a cost of {{Inflation|US|27,134|1926|fmt=eq|orig=yes}}, the tower has 164 steps to the top, where there is a replica of the State Seal of Oregon.
A plaque near the column commemorates the pioneering Community Antenna Television (CATV) system built by local resident Leroy E. "Ed" Parsons, initially at the Hotel Astoria, in which twin-lead transmission wires redistributed the signal of KRSC-TV (now KING-TV) in Seattle, Washington to area homes. Former Astoria resident Byron Roman was also involved in early cable invention and distribution.[https://web.archive.org/web/20010826114718/http://www.geocities.com/iconostar/history-public-access-TV.html The History Of Public Access Television]{{Cite web |url=http://www.cablecenter.org/education/library/collectionDetail.cfm?id=91&type=manuscript |title=The Cable Center |access-date=2007-03-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927224732/http://www.cablecenter.org/education/library/collectionDetail.cfm?id=91&type=manuscript |archive-date=2007-09-27 |url-status=dead }}
The cast-iron spiral staircase inside the column was closed for safety reasons in November 2007. It was reopened to the public in time for the Regatta in August 2009.{{Cite web |url=http://kezi.com/news/local/122004 |title=Local News | KEZI |access-date=2009-06-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713145338/http://kezi.com/news/local/122004 |archive-date=2011-07-13 |url-status=dead }}
Gallery
File:Rainbow Column with Fuchsia top.jpg|Astoria Column in a rainbow
File:Dedication of Astoria Column.jpg|Newspaper on the day of dedication
File:Astoria Column 3.jpg|Detail of the column mural
File:Interior top of Astoria Column - Oregon.jpg|Roof
File:Stairs of Astoria Column - Oregon.jpg|Spiral staircase (looking down)
File:Inside the Astoria Column (Astoria, Oregon).jpg|Spiral staircase (looking up)
File:Astoria Column (Clatsop County, Oregon scenic images) (clatDA0074c).jpg|The column at night
File:Astoria Column Blue.jpg|The column in blue lighting
{{clear}}
See also
=Other Great Northern memorials=
- Verendrye, North Dakota
- Camp Disappointment (Meriwether), Montana
- Marias Pass (Summit), Montana
- Bonners Ferry, Idaho
- Wishram, Washington
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{cite web |url=http://www.astoriacolumn.org/ |title=Friends of the Astoria Column |accessdate=2012-04-12}}
- {{cite gnis |id=1117074 |name=Astoria Column |accessdate=2012-04-12}}
- {{Oregon Encyclopedia|astoria_column|author=Filips, Janet}}
{{Commons category-inline|Astoria Column}}
Category:1926 establishments in Oregon
Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1926
Category:Buildings and structures in Astoria, Oregon
Category:Cable television in the United States
Category:Culture of Astoria, Oregon
Category:Monumental columns in the United States
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Astoria, Oregon