Crown Point (Oregon)
{{Short description|Basalt promontory in Oregon, USA}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox protected area
| name = Crown Point State Scenic Corridor
| alt_name =
| iucn_category =
| photo = Vistahouse.jpg
| photo_alt =
| photo_caption = Crown Point in the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon, taken from Chanticleer Point
| photo_width = 300
| map = USA Oregon
| map_alt =
| map_caption = Map of Oregon
| map_width =
| location = Multnomah County, Oregon
| nearest_city = Portland
| coordinates = {{coord|45.5395|-122.24422|region:US-OR|format=dms|display=inline, title}}
| area_acre = 306
| established = 1938
| visitation_num =
| visitation_year =
| governing_body =
| url = http://www.oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=parkPage.dsp_parkPage&parkId=108
| embedded = {{designation list | embed = yes
| designation1 = NNL
| designation1_date = 1971
}}
}}
Crown Point (also known historically as Thor's Heights or Thor's Crown)Vista House at Crown Point [brochure], 2005.Vista House, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon, 2006, p. 2. is a basalt promontory on the Columbia River Gorge and an associated state park in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located in eastern Multnomah County, approximately {{Convert|15|mi}} east of Portland. Crown Point is one of the scenic lookouts along the Historic Columbia River Highway, providing a panoramic view of part of the Columbia River. It stands {{convert|733|ft|m}} above the river and is the remains of a lava flow that filled the ancestral channel of the Columbia River 14 to 17 million years ago.{{Cite book |last1=Alt |first1=David D. |last2=Hyndman |first2=Donald W. |title=Roadside Geology of Oregon |page=179 |year=1978 |publisher=Mountain Press Publishing Company |location=Missoula, Montana |isbn=0-87842-063-0}}{{Cite news |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/O/relationships/index.ssf?/base/living/1212706534232180.xml&coll=7 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080804005511/http://www.oregonlive.com/O/relationships/index.ssf?%2Fbase%2Fliving%2F1212706534232180.xml&coll=7 |archive-date=2008-08-04 |title=Science writer Richard Hill gives a brief geologic history of the Columbia River Gorge |access-date=2008-06-15 |work=The Oregonian |url-status=dead}} The Point was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1971.{{Cite web |url=http://www.nature.nps.gov/nnl/site.cfm?Site=CRPO-OR |title=Crown Point |publisher=National Park Service |work=nps.gov |access-date=March 30, 2013 |archive-date=March 8, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130308110108/http://www.nature.nps.gov/nnl/site.cfm?Site=CRPO-OR |url-status=dead }}
Vista House
{{Main article|Vista House}}
The 1918 Art Nouveau style Vista House is an observatory at Crown Point that also serves as a memorial to Oregon pioneers and as a comfort station for travelers on the Historic Columbia River Highway. The site, on a rocky promontory, is {{convert|733|ft|m}} above the Columbia River on the south side of the Columbia River Gorge. The building shows great sensitivity to its site in the Columbia River Gorge near Corbett,{{Cite encyclopedia |last1=Ritz |first1=Richard Ellison |title=Lazarus, Edgar M. |encyclopedia=Architects of Oregon: A Biographical Dictionary of Architects Deceased – 19th and 20th Centuries |location= Portland, Oregon |publisher=Lair Hill Publishing |date=2002 |pages=247–248 |isbn=0-9726200-2-8}} and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
File:Crown Point, OR.jpg|View from Crown Point looking over the Columbia River Gorge
File:VistaHouse.jpg|Vista House
File:Crown Point and Vista House, Columbia River Highway, Oregon (69070).jpg|A postcard of Crown Point from circa 1930–1945
File:THE COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE - NARA - 548010.jpg|Crown Point in 1973
{{anchor|Crown Point Viaduct}}
Crown Point Viaduct
The Crown Point Viaduct, built in 1914, is a viaduct consisting of an elevated sidewalk supported by columns and a retaining wall which encircle the tight loop of roadway around Vista House (1918). The viaduct is a contributing structure in the National Historic Landmarked and National Register of Historic Places-listed Historic Columbia River Highway. Per the 2000 NHL nomination of the highway:This {{Convert|560|ft|m|disp=sqbr|adj=on}} spiral viaduct was constructed of reinforced concrete and runs for 225 degrees of a circle around Crown Point. It functions as a {{Convert|7|ft|m|disp=sqbr|adj=mid|-wide}} sidewalk and curb with a {{Convert|4|ft|m|disp=sqbr|adj=mid|-high}} parapet wall on the outside of a {{Convert|24|ft|m|disp=sqbr|adj=on}} roadway cut into the rock formation. A dry masonry retaining wall stabilizes the hillside above and below the viaduct and masonry parapet walls that ring Vista House.{{cite web|url={{NRHP url|id=83004168}} |title=National Historic Landmark Nomination: Columbia River Highway / Historic Columbia River Highway |publisher=National Park Service |last1=Hadlow |first1=Robert W. |date=February 4, 2000 |access-date=January 12, 2022}} With {{NRHP url|id=83004168|photos=y|title=accompanying 33 photos}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20040325151157/http://columbiariverhighway.com/ Historic Columbia River Highway]}}
- [http://www.oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=parkPage.dsp_parkPage&parkId=108 Crown Point State Scenic Corridor] Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
- Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) documentation, filed under Troutdale, Multnomah County, OR:
- {{HAER |survey=OR-36-C |id=or0364 |title=Historic Columbia River Highway, Crown Point Viaduct, Encircling Vista House at Crown Point |photos=6 |data=21 |cap=1 |link=no}}
- {{HAER |survey=OR-36-D |id=or0391 |title=Historic Columbia River Highway, Crown Point |photos=11 |cap=2 |link=no}}
{{Protected areas of Oregon}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:1938 establishments in Oregon
Category:Historic Columbia River Highway
Category:Landforms of Multnomah County, Oregon
Category:National Natural Landmarks in Oregon
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Multnomah County, Oregon
Category:Parks in Multnomah County, Oregon