Columbia River Highway Celebrating 100 Years

Transcription

1 June 2016 Columbia River Highway Celebrating 100 Years Webfooters Post Card Club PO Box Portland OR Columbia River Highway Celebrating 100 Years see page 4.

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3 The Largest Antique Paper Shows in the Northwest The Greater Portland Postcard Stamp and Antique Paper Show June 18-19, 2016 Lloyd Center Double Tree Hotel Exhibit Hall 1000 NE Multnomah Street Portland, Oregon Old Postcards, Photographs, Stereo View Cards, Books, Stamps, Valentines, Matchbooks, Magazines, Prints, Maps, Trade Cards, Posters & Much, Much More! Show Hours: ADMISSION: $1 Saturday: 10 AM 6 PM Sunday: 10 AM 4 PM Upcoming Shows in Portland, Oregon: For Information: February 25-26, 2017 Terry Weis 601 NW 72nd Circle Vancouver, WA FREE APPRAISALS FREE ADMISSION WITH THIS AD (paid advertisement) 3

4 Columbia River Highway Celebrating 100 Years The Historic Columbia River Highway was America s first scenic highway and Oregon s first paved thoroughfare. Construction of the highway, which is known for its ornate stonework, began in The lower section was dedicated on June 7, 1916 and the upper sections of the highway were finished in The one person most responsible for the Columbia River Highway was Sam Hill. Hill was born in 1857 in North Carolina and he died in He is most remembered for having built: the Columbia River Highway, the Peace Arch at Blaine, Washington and Maryhill Museum. Starting work at age 17 on a railroad survey crew, Hill quickly became a protégé of Pennsylvania Railroad magnate A.J. Cassatt. After earning a law degree from Harvard, Sam Hill settled in Minneapolis where railroad tycoon Jim Hill (no relation), organizer of the Great Northern Railroad, hired him as the company lawyer. Sam Hill took the hand of Jim Hill s daughter, Mary Frances Hill, in marriage. Eventually, Sam Hill, who made a fortune in the railroad business, moved west to tend to his own enterprises: a gas company in Seattle and a phone company in Portland. 4

5 Dedication of the Vista House at Crown Point on May 5, An aerial view of the Vista House showing construction on the Cross & Dimmit Postcard and Souvenir Shop on the right in the 1940 s. 5

6 Wahkeena Falls was originally known as Gordon Falls. The name was changed to Wahkeena in 1915 after the Columbia River Highway was completed. Ralph Eddy sold postcards and souvenirs from Eddie s Place (building on the left) at Wahkeena in the 1930 s. The Oregon State Police had a station next to the postcard stand. The Portland chapter of Rotary International dedicated this fountain and waterwheel on June 7, 1916 which was opposite Eddie s Place in this photo from the 1930 s. 6

7 In 1915, a local dairy farmer, George Shepherd, donated all of his land to the city of Portland as a memorial to his wife. The area included Shepherd s Dell Falls. Built in 1912, about 25 miles east of Portland, on an elevation high above the bank of the Columbia River, the Chanticleer Inn hosted many a general, several presidents and many foreign dignitaries. Before the Columbia River Highway was opened in 1915, the only way to reach Chanticleer was by taking a boat or the train to Rooster Rock and then riding or walking up the steep, unpaved road. After the highway opened, Chanticleer welcomed even more hungry motorists. Mrs. M.E. (Margaret) Henderson had established her abilities to satisfy the palettes of the rich and famous before the Columbia River Highway was built, while working at the Chanticleer Inn in

8 The Crown Point Chalet, which overlooked Crown Point, opened in 1915, two years before the Vista House was built and a year before the Columbia River Highway opened. Mrs. Henderson, or Bidy, as she was called, opened her first eating establishment, the Latourell Falls Chalet in 1914, but it was lost to a fire three months after it opened. Not one to give up, Mrs. Henderson set out almost immediately to build again. The Cascadian-style Multnomah Falls Lodge was completed in July of 1925 by the City of Portland at a cost of $40,000. The Lodge was designed by the famed architect A.E. Doyle. Multnomah Falls is the second highest waterfall in the U.S. at 611 feet. Lumber baron Simon Benson donated the land for the lodge to the City of Portland. The Union Pacific made regular stops at Multnomah Falls Lodge for many years. 8