Astoria

Astoria was established as Fort Astoria in 1811 by John Jacob Astor's Pacific Fur Company the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The city occupies hills above the Columbia River's 4-mile-wide mouth, giving it panoramic views across the river to Washington State and out toward the Pacific. The Astoria Column on Coxcomb Hill, a 125-foot painted tower modeled after Trajan's Column in Rome and depicting Pacific Northwest history in a continuous frieze, offers 360° views from its top. The Columbia River Maritime Museum is one of the finest maritime history institutions on the West Coast, with exhibits on the bar pilots, salmon canneries, and the treacherous Columbia River Bar crossing. The Flavel House Museum, a Queen Anne mansion built in 1886 for a Columbia River bar pilot captain, is the finest Victorian house museum in Oregon. Downtown Astoria has experienced a renaissance of independent restaurants, coffee roasters, and small distilleries occupying 19th-century commercial buildings. The Astoria-Megler Bridge at 4.1 miles, the longest continuous truss bridge in North America connects Oregon to Washington directly.