Astoria is a

port city A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

and the seat of

Clatsop County, Oregon Clatsop County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 41,072. The county seat is Astoria. The county is named for the Clatsop tribe of Native Americans, who lived along the coast ...

, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

. The county is the northwest corner of

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

, and Astoria is located on the south shore of the Columbia River, where the river flows into the Pacific Ocean. The city is named for

John Jacob Astor John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848) was a German-American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul, and investor who made his fortune mainly in a fur trade monopoly, by History of opium in China, smuggl ...

, an investor and entrepreneur from New York City, whose American Fur Company founded

Fort Astoria Fort Astoria (also named Fort George) was the primary fur trading post of John Jacob Astor's Pacific Fur Company (PFC). A maritime contingent of PFC staff was sent on board the ''Tonquin (1807 ship), Tonquin'', while another party traveled overl ...

at the site and established a monopoly in the fur trade in the early 19th century. Astoria was incorporated by the Oregon Legislative Assembly on October 20, 1876. The city is served by the deepwater

Port of Astoria A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

. Transportation includes the

Astoria Regional Airport Astoria Regional Airport is a joint civil-military public airport in Warrenton, three miles southwest of Astoria, in Clatsop County, Oregon. The airport is owned by the Port of Astoria and is the home of Coast Guard Air Station Astoria. The ai ...

U.S. Route 30 U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route in the system of the United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. With a length of , it is the third longest ...

and U.S. Route 101 are the main highways, and the Astoria–Megler Bridge connects to neighboring

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

across the river. The population was 10,181 at the 2020 census.

History

Prehistoric settlements

During archeological excavations in Astoria and

Fort Clatsop Fort Clatsop was the encampment of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the Oregon Country near the mouth of the Columbia River during the winter of 1805–1806. Located along the Lewis and Clark River at the north end of the Clatsop Plains approxi ...

in 2012, trading items from American settlers with Native Americans were found, including Austrian glass beads and falconry bells. The present area of Astoria belonged to a large, prehistoric Native American trade system of the Columbia Plateau.

19th century

The

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gr ...

spent the winter of 1805–1806 at

, a small log structure southwest of modern-day Astoria. The expedition had hoped a ship would come by that could take them back east, but instead, they endured a torturous winter of rain and cold. They later returned overland and by internal rivers, the way they had traveled west. Today, the fort has been recreated and is part of

Lewis and Clark National Historical Park The Lewis and Clark National Historical Park (including the former Fort Clatsop National Memorial), located in the vicinity of the mouth of the Columbia River, commemorates the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Administration of the park, which include ...

In 1811, British explorer David Thompson, the first person known to have navigated the entire length of the Columbia River, reached the partially constructed

near the mouth of the river. He arrived two months after the

Pacific Fur Company The Pacific Fur Company (PFC) was an American fur trade venture wholly owned and funded by John Jacob Astor that functioned from 1810 to 1813. It was based in the Pacific Northwest, an area contested over the decades between the United Kingdom o ...

's ship, the '' Tonquin''. The fort constructed by the ''Tonquin'' party established Astoria as a U.S., rather than a British, settlement and became a vital post for American exploration of the continent. It was later used as an American claim in the

Oregon boundary dispute The Oregon boundary dispute or the Oregon Question was a 19th-century territorial dispute over the political division of the Pacific Northwest of North America between several nations that had competing territorial and commercial aspirations in ...

with European nations. The Pacific Fur Company, a subsidiary of John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company, was created to begin fur trading in the Oregon Country. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, in 1813, the company's officers sold its assets to their Canadian rivals, the North West Company, which renamed the site Fort George. The fur trade remained under British control until U.S. pioneers following the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what is now the state of Kans ...

began filtering into the town in the mid-1840s. The Treaty of 1818 established joint U.S. – British occupancy of the Oregon Country.

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Legen ...

, a prominent American writer with a European reputation, was approached by John Jacob Astor to mythologize the three-year reign of his Pacific Fur Company. '' Astoria'' (1835), written while Irving was Astor's guest, promoted the importance of the region in the American psyche. In Irving's words, the fur traders were " Sinbads of the wilderness", and their venture was a staging point for the spread of American economic power into both the continental interior and outward in Pacific trade. In 1846, the Oregon Treaty divided the mainland at the 49th parallel north, making Astoria officially part of the United States. As the

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. O ...

grew and became increasingly more colonized by Americans, Astoria likewise grew as a

near the mouth of the great river that provided the easiest access to the interior. The first U.S. post office west of the Rocky Mountains was established in Astoria in 1847 and official state incorporation in 1876. Astoria attracted a host of immigrants beginning in the late 19th century: Nordic settlers, primarily Swedes, Swedish speaking

Finns Finns or Finnish people ( fi, suomalaiset, ) are a Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland. Finns are traditionally divided into smaller regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland, both those who are native to these ...

, and Chinese soon became larger parts of the population. The Nordic settlers mostly lived in Uniontown, near the present-day end of the Astoria–Megler Bridge, and took fishing jobs; the Chinese tended to do

cannery Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container ( jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although ...

work, and usually lived either downtown or in

bunkhouse A bunkhouse is a barracks-like building that historically was used to house working cowboys on ranches, or loggers in a logging camp in North America. As most cowboys were young single men, the standard bunkhouse was a large open room with narr ...

s near the canneries. By the late 1800s, 22% of Astoria's population was Chinese. Astoria also had a significant population of Indians, especially Sikhs from Punjab; the Ghadar Party, a political movement among Indians on the West Coast of the U.S. and Canada to overthrow British rule in India, was officially founded on July 15, 1913, in Astoria.

20th and 21st centuries

In 1883, and again in 1922, downtown Astoria was devastated by fire, partly because the buildings were constructed mostly of wood, a readily available material. The buildings were entirely raised off the marshy ground on wooden pilings. Even after the first fire, the same building format was used. In the second fire, flames spread quickly again, and the collapsing streets took out the water system. Frantic citizens resorted to dynamite, blowing up entire buildings to create fire stops. Port of Astoria Oregon Signs

Astoria has served as a port of entry for over a century and remains the trading center for the lower Columbia basin. In the early 1900s, the Callendar Navigation Company was an important transportation and maritime concern based in the city. It has long since been eclipsed in importance by

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

, and

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

, as economic hubs on the coast of the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...

. Astoria's economy centered on fishing, fish processing, and lumber. In 1945, about 30 canneries could be found along the Columbia River. In the early 20th century, the North Pacific Brewing Company contributed substantially to the economic well-being of the town. Before 1902, the company was owned by John Kopp, who sold the firm to a group of five men, one of whom was Charles Robinson, who became the company's president in 1907. The main plant for the brewery was located on East Exchange Street. As the

Pacific salmon ''Oncorhynchus'' is a genus of fish in the family Salmonidae; it contains the Pacific salmon and Pacific trout. The name of the genus is derived from the Greek ὄγκος (ónkos, “lump, bend”) + ῥύγχος (rhúnkhos, “snout”), i ...

resource diminished, canneries were closed. In 1974, the

Bumble Bee Seafoods Bumble Bee Foods, LLC, is a company that produces canned tuna, salmon, other seafoods, and chicken under the brand names "Bumble Bee," "Wild Selections," "Beach Cliff," "Brunswick," and "Snow's." The brand is marketed as " Clover Leaf" in Can ...

corporation moved its headquarters out of Astoria and gradually reduced its presence until closing its last Astoria cannery in 1980. The

lumber industry The wood industry or timber industry (sometimes lumber industry -- when referring mainly to sawed boards) is the industry concerned with forestry, logging, timber trade, and the production of primary forest products and wood products (e.g. furni ...

likewise declined in the late 20th century. Astoria Plywood Mill, the city's largest employer, closed in 1989. The

Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

discontinued service to Astoria in 1996, as it did not provide a large enough market. Astoria bridge

From 1921 to 1966, a ferry route across the Columbia River connected Astoria with

Pacific County, Washington Pacific County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,365. Its county seat is South Bend, and its largest city is Raymond. The county was formed by the government of Oregon Territory in Febr ...

. In 1966, the Astoria–Megler Bridge was opened. The bridge completed U.S. Route 101 and linked Astoria with Washington on the opposite shore of the Columbia, replacing the ferry service. Today, tourism, Astoria's growing art scene, and light manufacturing are the main economic activities of the city. Logging and fishing persist, but at a fraction of their former levels. Since 1982 it has been a port of call for

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as ...

s, after the city and port authority spent $10 million in pier improvements to accommodate these larger ships. To avoid Mexican ports of call during the swine flu outbreak of 2009, many cruises were rerouted to include Astoria. The floating residential community MS ''The World'' visited Astoria in June 2009. The town's seasonal sport fishing tourism has been active for several decades. Visitors attracted by heritage tourism and the historic elements of the city have supplanted fishing in the economy. Since the early 21st century, the microbrewery/

brewpub Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis ...

scene and a weekly street market have helped popularize the area as a destination. Astoria Column e

In addition to the replicated Fort Clatsop, another point of interest is the Astoria Column, a tower high, built atop Coxcomb Hill above the town. Its inner circular staircase allows visitors to climb to see a panoramic view of the town, the surrounding lands, and the Columbia flowing into the Pacific. The tower was built in 1926. Financing was provided by the Great Northern Railway, seeking to encourage tourists, and

Vincent Astor William Vincent Astor (November 15, 1891 – February 3, 1959) was an American businessman, philanthropist, and member of the prominent Astor family. Early life Called Vincent, he was born in New York City on November 15, 1891. Astor was the el ...

, a great-grandson of John Jacob Astor, in commemoration of the city's role in the family's business history and the region's early history. Since 1998, artistically inclined fishermen and women from

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

and the Pacific Northwest have traveled to Astoria for the Fisher Poets Gathering, where poets and singers tell their tales to honor the fishing industry and lifestyle. Another popular annual event is the Dark Arts Festival, which features music, art, dance, and demonstrations of craft such as blacksmithing and glassblowing, in combination with offerings of a large array of dark craft brews. Dark Arts Festival began as a small gathering at a community arts space. Now Fort George Brewery hosts the event, which draws hundreds of visitors and tour buses from Seattle. Astoria is the western terminus of the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail, a coast-to-coast bicycle touring route created in 1976 by the

Adventure Cycling Association Adventure Cycling Association is a nonprofit member organization focused on travel by bicycle (bicycle touring). Headquartered in Missoula, Montana, Adventure Cycling develops cycling routes, publishes maps, provides guided trips, and advocates ...

. Three

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

cutters: the '' Steadfast'', '' Alert'', and ''Elm'', are homeported in Astoria.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the city has a total area of , of which are covered by water.

Climate

Astoria lies within the

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

zone (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Csb''), with cool winters and mild summers, although short heat waves can occur. Rainfall is most abundant in late fall and winter and is lightest in July and August, averaging about of rain each year. Snowfall is relatively rare, averaging under a year and frequently having none. Nevertheless, when conditions are ripe, significant snowfalls can occur. Astoria is tied with

Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles (French: ''Lac Charles'') is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Founded in 1861 in Calcas ...

, and Port Arthur, Texas, as the city with the highest average

relative humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity dep ...

in the contiguous United States. The average relative humidity in Astoria is 89% in the morning and 73% in the afternoon. Astoria aerial from Youngs Bay - panoramio

Astoria aerial from Youngs Bay - panoramio

Annually, an average of only 4.2 afternoons have temperatures reaching or higher, and readings are rare. Normally, only one or two nights per year occur when the temperature remains at or above . An average of 31 mornings have minimum temperatures at or below the freezing mark. The record high temperature was on July 1, 1942, and June 27, 2021. The record low temperature was on December 8, 1972, and on December 21, 1990. Even with such a cold record low, afternoons usually remain mild in winter. On average. the coldest daytime high is whereas the lowest daytime maximum on record is . Even during brief heat spikes, nights remain cool. The warmest overnight low is set as early in the year as in May during 2008. Nights close to that record are common with the normally warmest night of the year being at . On average, 191 days have measurable precipitation. The wettest "water year", defined as October 1 through September 30 of the next year, was from 1915 to 1916 with and the driest from 2000 to 2001 with . The most rainfall in one month was in December 1933, and the most in 24 hours was on November 25, 1998. The most snowfall in one month was in January 1950, and the most snow in 24 hours was on December 11, 1922.

Notes

Demographics

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, 9,477 people, 4,288 households, and 2,274 families were residing in the city. The population density was . The 4,980 housing units had an average density of . The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the city was 89.2% White, 0.6% African American, 1.1% Native American, 1.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.9% from other races, and 3.3% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 9.8% of the population. Of the 4,288 households, 24.6% had children under 18 living with them, 37.9% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 47.0% were not families. About 38.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.15, and the average family size was 2.86. The median age in the city was 41.9 years; 20.3% of residents were under 18; 8.6% were between 18 and 24; 24.3% were from 25 to 44; 29.9% were from 45 to 64; and 17.1% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, 9,813 people, 4,235 households, and 2,469 families resided in the city. The population density was 1,597.6 people per square mile (617.1 per km). The 4,858 housing units had an average density of 790.9 per square mile (305.5 per km). The racial makeup of the city was 91.08% White, 0.52% Black or African American, 1.14% Native American, 1.94% Asian, 0.19% Pacific Islander, 2.67% from other races, and 2.46% from two or more races. About 5.98% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. By ethnicity, 14.2% were German, 11.4%

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, 10.2% English, 8.3% United States or American, 6.1%

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

, 5.6%

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

, and 5.4% Scottish according to the

2000 United States Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...

. Of the 4,235 households, 28.8% had children under 18 living with them, 43.5% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.7% were not families. About 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.26, and the average family size was 2.93. In the city the age distribution was 24.0% under 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% were 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 89.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $33,011, and for a family was $41,446. Males had a median income of $29,813 versus $22,121 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,759. About 11.6% of families and 15.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 22.0% of those under 18 and 9.6% of those 65 or over.

Government

Astoria operates under a council–manager form of city government. Voters elect four councilors by

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

and a mayor, who each serve four-year terms. The mayor and council appoint a city manager to conduct the ordinary business of the city. The current mayor is Bruce Jones, a retired US Coast Guard captain, who took office in January 2019. His predecessor, Arline Lamear, served from 2015 to 2018.

Education

The Astoria School District has four primary and secondary schools, including Astoria High School.

Clatsop Community College Clatsop Community College (CCC) is a public community college with facilities in Astoria and Seaside, Oregon. The college's service area includes Clatsop County, portions of Columbia and Tillamook counties and Pacific and Wahkiakum counties i ...

is the city's two-year college. The city also has a library and many parks with historical significance, plus the second oldest

Job Corps Job Corps is a program administered by the United States Department of Labor that offers free education and vocational training to young men and women ages 16 to 24. Mission and purpose Job Corps' mission is to help young people ages 16 throug ...

facility (Tongue Point Job Corps) in the nation. Tongue Point Job Corps center is the only such location in the country which provides

seamanship Seamanship is the art, knowledge and competence of operating a ship, boat or other craft on water. The'' Oxford Dictionary'' states that seamanship is "The skill, techniques, or practice of handling a ship or boat at sea." It involves topics a ...

training. File:astor.jpg, alt=Elementary School, John Jacob Astor Elementary School File:Astoria High School - Astoria Oregon.jpg, alt=High School, Astoria High School File:Robert Gray School (Clatsop County, Oregon scenic images) (clatDA0040).jpg, Robert Gray School (Astoria High School School), alt=Alternative School File:08199-Astoria, Ore.-1906-The High School-Brück & Sohn Kunstverlag.jpg, alt=High School in 1906, The 1906 Astoria High School

Media

'' The Astorian'' (formerly ''the Daily Astorian'') is the main newspaper serving Astoria. It was established nearly , in 1873,Newspapers Published in Oregon
''

Oregon Blue Book The ''Oregon Blue Book'' is the official directory and fact book for the U.S. state of Oregon prepared by the Oregon Secretary of State and published by the Office of the Secretary's Archives Division. The ''Blue Book'' comes in both print and on ...

''. Retrieved July 22, 2012. and has been in publication continuously since that time. The ''Coast River Business Journal'' is a monthly business magazine covering Astoria, Clatsop County, and the Northwest Oregon coast. It, as with the Astorian, is part of the EO Media Group (formerly the

East Oregonian The ''East Oregonian'' (''EO'') is a daily newspaper published in Pendleton, Oregon, United States and covering Umatilla and Morrow counties. The ''EO'' was the first-place winner of the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association General Excellence ...

Publishing Company) family of Oregon and Washington newspapers. The local

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

station is KMUN 91.9, and KAST 1370 is a local news-talk radio station.

In popular culture and entertainment

Actor

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...

is claimed to have begun his career at the Astoria Theatre in 1922. Leroy E. "Ed" Parsons, called the "Father of Cable Television", developed one of the first community antenna television stations (CATV) in the United States in Astoria starting in 1948. The early 1960s television series '' Route 66'' filmed the episode entitled "One Tiger to a Hill" in Astoria; it was broadcast on September 21, 1962. '' Shanghaied in Astoria'' is a musical about Astoria's history that has been performed in Astoria every year since 1984. In recent popular culture, Astoria is most famous for being the setting of the 1985 film '' The Goonies'', which was filmed on location in the city. Other notable movies filmed in Astoria include ''

Short Circuit A short circuit (sometimes abbreviated to short or s/c) is an electrical circuit that allows a current to travel along an unintended path with no or very low electrical impedance. This results in an excessive current flowing through the circui ...

'', '' The Black Stallion'', ''

Kindergarten Cop ''Kindergarten Cop'' is a 1990 American action comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and distributed by Universal Pictures. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as John Kimble, a tough police detective working undercover as a kindergarten teacher to apprehe ...

'', ''

Free Willy ''Free Willy'' is a 1993 American family drama film, directed by Simon Wincer, produced by Lauren Shuler Donner and Jennie Lew Tugend, written by Keith A. Walker and Corey Blechman from a story by Walker and distributed by Warner Bros. Picture ...

'', '' Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home'', ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III'' is a 1993 American superhero film written and directed by Stuart Gillard. It is the sequel to '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze'' (1991), and the final installment in the original ' ...

'', '' Benji the Hunted'', '' Come See the Paradise,'' ''

The Ring Two ''The Ring Two'' is a 2005 American supernatural psychological horror film and a sequel to the 2002 film '' The Ring'', which was a remake of the 1998 Japanese film '' Ring''. Hideo Nakata, director of the original Japanese film ''Ring'', on wh ...

'', '' Into the Wild'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and '' Green Room.'' A scene in "The Real Thing", episode two of season five (in the 7th year), of the television series ''Eureka'' was set in Astoria. The character Jo Lupo parks her vehicle in an unauthorized location while she is meditating on the oceanfront. A tow truck is called to remove the vehicle. A law-enforcement officer whose shoulder clearly displays a patch that reads "Astoria, Oregon" speaks to Jo about the parking violation. The fourth album of the pop punk band

The Ataris The Ataris are an American punk rock band from Anderson, Indiana. Formed in 1996, they released five studio albums between 1997 and 2007. Their best-selling album is ''So Long, Astoria'' (2003), which was certified gold. Their high-charting s ...

was titled ''

So Long, Astoria ''So Long, Astoria'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band The Ataris, released on March 4, 2003. The album's title song alludes to the 1985 film ''The Goonies'', which is set in Astoria, Oregon. Background In February 2001, The Atar ...

'' as an allusion to ''The Goonies''. A song of the same title is the album's first track. The album's back cover features news clippings from Astoria, including a picture of the port's water tower from a 2002 article on its demolition. The pop punk band

Marianas Trench The Mariana Trench is an oceanic trench located in the western Pacific Ocean, about east of the Mariana Islands; it is the deepest oceanic trench on Earth. It is crescent-shaped and measures about in length and in width. The maximum known ...

has an album titled '' Astoria''. The band states the album was inspired by 1980s

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

and

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

films, and ''The Goonies'' in particular. That film inspired the title, as it was set in Astoria, the album's artwork, as well as the title of their accompanying US tour (''Hey You Guys!!''). Astoria is featured as a city in '' American Truck Simulator: Oregon''. In the series finale of the TV show '' Dexter'', the title character, Dexter Morgan, ends up in Astoria as the series ends.

Warships named ''Astoria''

Two

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

cruisers were named USS ''Astoria'': A New Orleans-class heavy cruiser (CA-34) and a Cleveland class light cruiser (CL-90). The former was lost in the Pacific Ocean in combat at the

Battle of Savo Island The Battle of Savo Island, also known as the First Battle of Savo Island and, in Japanese sources, as the , and colloquially among Allied Guadalcanal veterans as the Battle of the Five Sitting Ducks, was a naval battle of the Solomon Islands cam ...

in August 1942, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, and the latter was scrapped in 1971 after being removed from active duty in 1949.

Museums and other points of interest

* Columbia River Maritime Museum * Astoria Riverfront Trolley * Clatsop County Historical Society Heritage Museum, located in the Old City Hall *

* Clatsop Spit * CGAS Astoria * Oregon Film Museum *

Captain George Flavel House Museum The Captain George Flavel House Museum () known also as Capt. George Flavel House and Carriage House or the Flavel Mansion, is now a Historic house museums, house museum in Astoria, Oregon, Astoria, Oregon, United States. It was built in 1885 in ...

* The Astoria Column (the highest point in Astoria)

Sister cities

Astoria has one

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

, as designated by

Sister Cities International Sister Cities International (SCI) is a nonprofit organization, nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between communities in the United States and those in other countries, particularly through the establish ...

: *

Walldorf Walldorf (South Franconian: ''Walldoaf'') is a town in the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district in the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. In the eighteenth century, Walldorf was the birthplace of John Jacob Astor, who emigrated and became a promin ...

, Germany, which is the birthplace of Astoria's namesake, John Jacob Astor, who was born in Walldorf near

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

on July 17, 1763. The sistercityship was founded on Astor's 200th birthday in 1963 in Walldorf by Walldorf's mayor Wilhelm Willinger and Astoria's mayor Harry Steinbock.

Notable people

Image gallery

Image:Fort Clatsop replica 2007.jpg, The replica of Fort Clatsop. Image:Astoria - Suomi Hall - CRW 3281.jpg, Suomi Hall, the meeting hall of Finnish and

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

n immigrants, under the Astoria–Megler Bridge. Image:USCGC Alert (WMEC-630).jpg, Coast Guard cutter Alert docked at Astoria. Image:Clatsop County Courthouse, Astoria, Oregon.JPG, The Clatsop County Courthouse. Image:Cannery Pier Hotel (Clatsop County, Oregon scenic images) (clatDA0016).jpg, The Cannery Pier Hotel. Image:USCGCCitySign.JPG, The US Coast Guard pier. Image:Norwegian Pearl.jpg, The Norwegian Pearl cruise ship docked at Astoria. Image:1852 US Custom House, Astoria, Oregon.jpg, The 1852 U.S. Custom's House. Image:Flavel House (Astoria, Oregon).jpg, The Flavel House Museum. Image:Columbia River Maritime Museum exterior in 2012.jpg, The Columbia River Maritime Museum. Image:Liberty Theatre 1 (Astoria, Oregon).jpg, The Liberty Theatre located in the Astor Building. Image:Welcome to Astoria.JPG, The bicentennial Welcome to Astoria sign. Image:Old Columbia Hospital Building (Clatsop County, Oregon scenic images) (clatDA0020c).jpg, The Old Columbia Hospital Building. Image:Heritage Museum (Clatsop County, Oregon scenic images) (clatDA0016a).jpg, The Heritage Museum, located in the former Astoria City Hall. Image:John Jacob Astor Hotel, Astoria.JPG, The former John Jacob Astor Hotel. Image:Green Pilings (4560895027).jpg, Former cannery dock pilings at Astoria waterfront. Image:Astoria and Tongue Point, Oregon - panoramio.jpg, An aerial view of the Astoria waterfront and Tongue Point in the distance. Image:Indian Burial Canoe (Clatsop County, Oregon scenic images) (clatD0067).jpg, A

Chinookan The Chinookan languages were a small family of languages spoken in Oregon and Washington along the Columbia River by Chinook peoples. Although the last known native speaker of any Chinookan language died in 2012, the 2009-2013 American Community ...

Indian Burial Canoe replica at the top of Coxcomb Hill.

References

Sources

* * * * *

External links

*
Entry for Astoria
in the ''

''
Astoria-Warrenton Chamber of Commerce

Astoria
Documentary produced by

Oregon Public Broadcasting Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) is the primary television and radio public broadcasting network for most of the U.S. state of Oregon as well as southern Washington. OPB consists of five full-power television stations, dozens of VHF or UHF tra ...

{{authority control 1811 establishments in Oregon Cities in Oregon Populated places established in 1811 Oregon populated places on the Columbia River Cities in Clatsop County, Oregon Port cities in Oregon Populated coastal places in Oregon