Astoria Column

Infobox_nrhp
name = Astoria Column


caption = The Astoria Column
location = Astoria, Oregon, USA
nearest_city =
lat_degrees = 46
lat_minutes = 10
lat_seconds = 53
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 123
long_minutes = 49
long_seconds = 03
long_direction = W
architecture =
built = 1926
added = May 2, 1974
refnum = 74001681
governing_body =The Astoria Column is a tower overlooking the mouth of the Columbia River on Coxcomb Hill in the city of Astoria in the U.S. state of Oregon. Built in 1926, the concrete and steel structure is part of a 30 acre city park. The convert|125|ft|m|sing=on-tall column has an observation deck at the top and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 2, 1974.

History

The tower was built in 1926 with financing by the Great Northern Railroad and Vincent Astor, the great-grandson of John Jacob Astor, in commemoration of the city's role in the family's business history. The Column was dedicated on July 22 1926. The first Community Antenna Television (CATV) System in the United States was built in 1949 utilizing the column. [http://people.seas.harvard.edu/~jones/cscie129/nu_lectures/lecture13/CATV/CATV.html Introduction to CATV ] ] In 1974, the column was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.cite web
title = Oregon National Register List
publisher = State of Oregon
url = http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/HCD/NATREG/docs/oregon_nr_list.pdf
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2008-08-19] The murals that make up the column were refurbished in 1995 and a granite plaza was added in 2004.

Details

The convert|125|ft|m|sing=on-tall column stands atop convert|600|ft|m|sing=on-tall Coxcomb Hill and includes an interior spiral staircase that leads to an observation deck at the top.Corning, Howard M. "Dictionary of Oregon History". Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956.] The spiral sgrafitto frieze on the exterior of the structure is almost seven feet wide, and convert|525|ft|m long. Painted by Electus D. Litchfield and Attilio Pusterla, the mural show 14 significant events in the early history of Oregon with a focus on Astoria's role including Captain Gray's discovery of the Columbia River in 1792 and the Lewis & Clark Expedition.

Designed to resemble the Roman Trajan's Column, the Astoria Column was built of concrete and has a 12 foot deep foundation.cite web|url=http://www.astoriacolumn.org/|title=The Astoria Column|date=2007|publisher=Friends of the Astoria Column, Inc.|accessdate=2008-08-19] Built at a cost of $27,133.96, the tower has 164 steps to the top, where there is a replica of the State Seal of Oregon.

A plaque at the site commemorates the CATV system built by local resident Leroy E. "Ed" Parsons in which twin-lead transmission wires redistributed the signal of KRSC-TV (now KING-TV) in Seattle, Washington to area homes. Former Astoria resident Byron Roman was also involved in early cable invention and distribution. [ [http://www.geocities.com/iconostar/history-public-access-TV.html The History Of Public Access Television ] ] [ [http://www.cablecenter.org/education/library/collectionDetail.cfm?id=91&type=manuscript The Cable Center ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.astoriacolumn.org/ Friends of the Astoria Column]
*Gnis|1117074