Crown Point- Columbia River Gorge, OR
Views do not get much better than the one found at Crown Point. Known one of the most scenic drives in the United States, the Historic Columbia River Highway offers an exhilarating array of overlooks; arguably, the most stunning is found at the hairpin turn located at its apex. Standing 733 feet above the river, and capped with the beautiful 1918 Art Nouveau Vista House, Crown Point is a stop you won’t soon forget.
The point itself is a basalt promontory, the remains of an ancient lava flow which filled the entire Columbia River channel to the depth of 700 feet. Glacial activity later created the river gorge, including the dramatic Missoula Floods, caused by ice dam failures along the Clark Fork River in Idaho. The Glacial Lake Missoula was over 2000 feet deep and 200 miles long; when ice dams failed, water raced at speeds up to 65 mph toward the Pacific, cutting deep into the bedrock and flooding much of eastern Washington and western Oregon.
The natural beauty of this area has long been recognized, and even inspired the construction of the first planned scenic roadway in America. Built between 1913 and 1922, the 75 mile long highway was constructed to showcase the area’s stunning scenery. Designed by landscape architect and engineer Samuel C. Lancaster, it was modeled on the great scenic roads of Europe, and aimed to make the area’s landmarks more accessible to the masses.
Atop Crown Point, Lancaster sought to construct an observatory which afforded unobstructed views both up and down the river. To this end, architect Edgar M. Lazarus designed the Vista House, a gray sandstone domed rotunda that would function as both a rest stop and an elevated viewing area. Completed in 1918, the building boasted marble clad walls, colored glass windows, an interior dome lined in bronze, and of course a viewing platform. The exorbitant nature of the building led many to refer to it as the “$100,000 Outhouse.”
Alas, the observatory is a victim of its lofty location; it is frequently closed due to high winds, as it was on the day we visited. In fact, the point is known for extreme wind gusts that can top 100 mph. Despite being disappointed, the views from the road are more than adequate, and we did not blow away.
Visit early in the day to avoid the crowds, and be sure to stop at the other viewpoints along the highway; the challenging scramble at Oneonta Gorge is just a short drive to the east of Crown Point, while the magical Multnomah Falls are located a few miles to the west. Lovely, Lovely, Lovely.
One Comment
Pingback: