Short Trips
All that Fort Clatsop Park ranger Sean Johnson could do was point at a large white tarp propped up in the woods with poles and tell visitors, "Yep, that's where Fort Clatsop used to be." The tarp covered the ground where only a few charred pieces of the historic fort replica remained after it burned to the ground Oct. 3.
By Jeff Larsen | December 29, 2005
MEGLER, Pacific County — Rex Ziak is driving west on Highway 401, within sight of the Astoria Bridge, when he stops his pickup truck by a thicket of alders on the Washington side of the Columbia River.
He peers into a dark tangle of trees and boulders, a gloomy, sunless scene, like something from an old black-and-white film.
By Stanton H. Patty | February 3, 2005
Short Trips
ASTORIA, Ore. -- Up until two years ago, I thought Astoria was just a small town on the Columbia River that you had to negotiate after crossing from Washington to reach the really fun places farther south on the Oregon coast, like Seaside or Cannon Beach.
However during a short stay in 2002, I sensed a certain spark and charm -- not too commercial, not too touristy -- that made me feel comfortable.
By Jeff Larsen | November 18, 2004
ASTORIA, Ore. Visiting New Yorker Stephanie Baer took in the city sights. From Riverfront Trolley Old No. 300, she spied the ships floating on the Columbia and eyed the steep hillsides spotted with old Victorian houses. The views were phenomenal, the people friendly just as Baer expected.
"But I didn't expect it to be so prosperous," Baer said. "And what really surprises me is how sophisticated it is."
By Lori Tobias | September 20, 2004
One of the most evocative of the country's many Lewis and Clark historic sites is tucked away in the dank woods of northwest Oregon: the Fort Clatsop National Memorial.
The two rows of small log buildings a sort of mini stockade with a tiny parade ground in the middle is a reconstruction of the shelter the explorers built when they wintered in 1805-06 about five miles from present-day Astoria, Ore.
Fort Clatsop was the turn-around point of the epic and successful 33-member Corps of Discovery voyage to find a river route across the American West to the Pacific Ocean.
By Kristin Jackson | April 2, 2004
As it's affectionately referred to by native Astorians, "the column" is the world's only piece of column-shaped memorial architecture held together with reinforced concrete.
Constructed in 1926, its exterior -- in a sort of mural technique -- commemorates important Astoria historical events chronologically, beginning with the native wilderness and the discovery of the Columbia River by Captain Robert Gray at the bottom of the column, to the coming of white settlers and the railroad depicted at the very top.
By Jeff Larsen | January 9, 2003
ASTORIA, Ore. - Once upon a time, there was a sea captain by the name of George Flavel who built a mansion covering a full city block in downtown Astoria.
"He wanted to show the town that he'd made it - and he did," says Michelle Schmitter, executive director of the Clatsop County Historical Society.
The captain died in 1893. Later, his family gave the property to the city. But the financially strapped town government didn't want it.
There were suggestions that the house be demolished for a parking lot.
By Stanton H. Patty | June 28, 2001
Just above the pink and purple neon Custard King sign on Commercial Street in downtown Astoria is the tiny Shallon Winery.
The building was once an auto dealership, public freezer locker and a bicycle shop. Today, it's a laboratory where Paul van der Veldt creates wines from fruit and whey. Inside his tasting room overlooking the Columbia River, he pours glasses of a wine made with local cranberries, and his favorite, a chocolate-orange concoction as thick as syrup.
By Carol Pucci | April 5, 2000
Astoria is in Clatsop County where the Columbia River empties into the Pacific Ocean. From Seattle, pick up Highway 101 South toward Long Beach, or take Interstate 5 South via Longview and Highway 30 on the Oregon side of the Columbia.
General information
Contact the Astoria-Warren Area Chamber of Commerce for a free information guide. 503-325-6311. Web: www.oldoregon.com. Another useful site is Welcome to Astoria at www.el.com/to/astoria/.
Where to stay
By Carol Pucci | April 5, 2000
