Template:Infobox NRHP 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 Template:Convert city park called Astor Park.
The Template:Convert-tall column has a 164-step spiral staircase ascending to an exterior observation deck at the top.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
HistoryEdit
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.<ref name=bigcle>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Oregon/><ref name=acolcch>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=tcatas>Template:Cite news</ref> Maintenance work was done in 1936.<ref>"News and Comment", Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 37 no. 3.</ref> In 1974, the column was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.<ref name=ornrhp>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} </ref> The murals that make up the column were refurbished in 1995 and a granite plaza was added in 2004.<ref name=friends/>
The column was one of a series of monuments erected by Great Northern between 1925 and 1926.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
DetailsEdit
The Template:Convert column stands atop Template:Convert Coxcomb Hill and includes an interior spiral staircase that leads to an observation deck at the top.<ref name=Oregon>Corning, Howard M. Dictionary of Oregon History. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956.</ref> The spiral sgraffito frieze on the exterior of the structure has a width of nearly Template:Convert and a length of Template:Convert.<ref name=Oregon/> Projected by Electus D. Litchfield and painted by Attilio Pusterla,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref name=Oregon/> The frieze starts with the "pristine forest" and concludes with the arrival of the railway in Astoria.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Constructed of concrete, its foundation is Template:Convert deep.<ref name=friends>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Built at a cost of Template:Inflation, the tower has 164 steps to the top, where there is a replica of the State Seal of Oregon.<ref name=friends/>
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.<ref>The History Of Public Access Television</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
GalleryEdit
- Rainbow Column with Fuchsia top.jpg
Astoria Column in a rainbow
- Dedication of Astoria Column.jpg
Newspaper on the day of dedication
- Astoria Column 3.jpg
Detail of the column mural
- Interior top of Astoria Column - Oregon.jpg
Roof
- Stairs of Astoria Column - Oregon.jpg
Spiral staircase (looking down)
- Inside the Astoria Column (Astoria, Oregon).jpg
Spiral staircase (looking up)
- Astoria Column (Clatsop County, Oregon scenic images) (clatDA0074c).jpg
The column at night
- Astoria Column Blue.jpg
The column in blue lighting
See alsoEdit
Other Great Northern memorialsEdit
- Verendrye, North Dakota
- Camp Disappointment (Meriwether), Montana
- Marias Pass (Summit), Montana
- Bonners Ferry, Idaho
- Wishram, Washington
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
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