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Admire wonders of engineering and migrating salmon at this historic landmark on the Columbia River. Its opulent $100,000 price tag was considered steep during the end of World War I when materials and manpower were scarce. Over time, however, Vista House’s ethereal charm, historical significance and practicality won out, landing it on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. For information regarding what trails and campsites are open, please visit the U.S.
Spotlight on Lesser Known History
Vista House winter hours are Fri, Sat & Sun from 10am to 4pm, weather permitting. Spring hours are daily, from 10am to 4pm, and Summer (after May 1) daily from 9am to 6pm. Directions from Portland – take I-84 east for approximately 20 miles, to Exit 22. Vista House is the perfect stop on the way to Lautourell Falls, the first waterfall along the waterfall-heavy Columbia River Highway that also include the spectacular 600-foot plummet of the Multnomah Falls.
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Designed by architect Edgar Lazarus, the 55-foot-tall structure is located on Crown Point, overlooking the entrance to the Columbia River Gorge. Originally opened as a “comfort station” and a place for drivers and their cars to rest during a drive down the gorge, today Vista House is a memorial to Oregon’s pioneers, an observatory, gifts shop and history lesson. The roof was originally surfaced with matte-glazed green tiles.
America's Best History Spotlight
The interior is extensively finished in marble, even in the toilets. The dome interior has bronze lining.[9] The clerestory windows feature opalescent glass in a simple tracery pattern, with similar colored glass at the tops of the windows at the main level. With no state funding available, the project was paid for primarily by Multnomah County and partially by private parties, including funds raised by local schoolchildren. A notoriously expensive undertaking, Vista House garnered a reputation as “the million-dollar rest stop.” On-site historians still refer to it by this nickname, though records suggest that construction ran closer to $100,000. Considering the awe-inspiring location, it’s easy to see why Lazarus felt it was worth the splurge. The project’s first phase focused on $1.1 million in exterior repairs to restore the building to its original architectural condition using modern techniques.
After nearly a century of wear, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, the State Historic Preservation Office and the nonprofit Friends of Vista House banded together to finance a site restoration. The five-year, $4 million renovation began in 2001 and included restoring the roof, adding new interpretive displays, updating plumbing and providing ADA accessibility throughout, including a custom-designed “invisible” lift. Millions of visitors driving along I-84 through the Columbia River Gorge zip right below the famous building atop a cliff near Exit 22. This rocky promontory perched 693 feet above the Columbia River is Crown Point State Scenic Corridor, and the building is Vista House. The upper windows are greenish opalized glass, like the original. The rotunda windows are also greenish opalized glass with clear glass in the viewing areas.
The roof was covered with a copper crown for more than 50 years. During the 2002 exterior restoration, a new glazed green tile roof was installed over a protective dome membrane. Vista House is a museum at Crown Point in Multnomah County, Oregon, that also serves as a memorial to Oregon pioneers and as a comfort station for travelers on the Historic Columbia River Highway. The site, situated on a rocky promontory, is 733 feet (223 m) above the Columbia River on the south side of the Columbia River Gorge.
Photos: Vista House, Historic Columbia River Highway still frozen after winter storm - KOIN.com
Photos: Vista House, Historic Columbia River Highway still frozen after winter storm.
Posted: Mon, 22 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Architecture
The effort led to OPRD’s receipt of a 2003 Hammurabi Award from the masonry and Ceramic Tile Institute. The house was designed by architect Edgar Lazarus in the style ofGerman Art Nouveau. The octagonal building stands 55 feet (17 m) high withtall, opalized glass windows offering 360-degree views of the gorge. Theinterior floors and hand-carved water fountains are constructed from TokeenAlaskan marble, which extends into the stairwells and bathrooms on the lowerlevel. Architect Edward M. Lazarus designed the Vista House to be “a temple to the natural beauty of the Gorge,” constructing a round structure with 55-foot tall walls of gray sandstone.
Restoration of the Vista House
The inside of the dome and its supporting ribs were painted to simulate the marble and bronze. Attached to the wall just below the dome, eight busts of four unidentified Native Americans are aligned so that each mirrors its own likeness. Lancaster furnished plans for other interior decorations that were never realized.
If you're traveling along the Columbia River Gorge Highway and stopping at Vista House, you're nearby a number of interesting local sites, including Horsetail Falls and Benson State Recreation Area, both upriver from the house. Downriver, west from the Vista House are several parks, including Reed Island State Park within the Columbia River itself. Even closer, are Rooster Rock State Park (river) and Guy W. Talbot State Park (inland). For more national and regional attractions, there's the National Park Service sites of Fort Vancouver, only forty minutes west, Crater Lake, and Lewis and Clark National Historic Site. A formal public fundraising campaign to finance continuing restoration was launched in June 2002. The campaign involved a partnership formed by the Oregon State Parks Trust, the Friends of Vista House, OPRD and private individuals and organizations.
The octagonal stone building was designed by Edgar M. Lazarus in the style of Art Nouveau, and completed in 1918 after nearly two years of construction. People come to the Vista House for the amazing view, but it has more to offer. The sheer beauty of the natural surroundings leaves some people to stand for several minutes taking in the fresh air and cliffs, river, boats, weather and wildlife. As an observatory the Vista House is a wonderful place to watch weather roll down the gorge or look through the telescopes at boat traffic. There is even a balcony which is open to the public, weather permitting, that gives an even greater view from the vista, with access just inside the house.
Samuel Lancaster, Assistant Highway Engineer for Multnomah County in 1913, supervised the Columbia River Highway project. Lancaster’s proposal to construct a building on the summit of Crown Point was another reflection of his desire to inspire the traveler along the highway and to make the wonders of the gorge accessible. In 2000, restoration on the building began, and lasted five years. The Vista House is located within the Corbett locality,[4] and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Windward School, considered one of the best private high schools in the city, is located on Palm Boulevard on the western end of Mar Vista. The Santa Monica City Council recently voted to begin plans for the conversion of the Santa Monica Airport into a public park akin to Central Park.
Yet another panel outlines the honored pioneers of Oregon, from John McLaughlin to Marcus Whitman, to Joseph Lane and Matthew Paul Deady. Grab your board and head to the Columbia River Gorge, the windsurfing capital of the world, located a short drive east of Portland. The Columbia River Gorge is a recreational biker’s paradise, with options including car-free blacktop, smooth single-track flows and canyon trails with tricky switchbacks. No metal detecting is permitted in West Columbia River Gorge State parks. This viewpoint along Highway 30 was the site of the 1916 dedication of the Columbia River Highway, the innovative European-style road that traced a winding path through the perilous Columbia River Gorge, linking Portland and The Dalles. Vista House is owned by the Oregon Department of Transportation.
Lazarus' design incorporates elements of the Jugendstil, the German interpretation of Art Nouveau which had been popular in Europe in the late 19th century up to 1910. The building is essentially a domed rotunda 44 feet (13 m) in diameter with an octagonal[9] plan on a 64-foot (20 m) diameter base which houses toilets and a gift shop. Stairs lead from the rotunda to an elevated viewing platform at the base of the dome.
Eight pillars inside the Vista House has a panel that explains some part of history of the house. One panel, named “Flights of Imagination” which outlines how Richard T. Dabney had plans to make the site a hotel with a gondola that stretched down to the railroad below. A second panel, called “The Building of Vista House,” talks about the construction and controversies of the house.
And while they may be lesser known, some are very unique, and will be that rare find. You'll be, at times, on the ground floor, or maybe even know something others don't. The beautifully designed and maintained building is an Oregon icon designated as a National Natural Landmark. The viewing deck that wraps around Vista House offers one of the greatest non-hike-dependent views in Oregon. The first tract was given to the state by the City of Portland and Multnomah County in 1938.
Continue four miles east on NE Corbett Hill Road and the Historic Columbia River Highway to the Vista House. Writer, editor and researcher with a passion for exploring new places. Catherine loves local bookstores, independent films, and spending time with her family, including Gus the golden retriever, who is a very good boy. Vista House resides on the inside of a bend in Historic Columbia River Highway on Crown Point, a lofty landing of basaltic rock at the west end of Columbia River Gorge.
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