The Maryhill Loops Road was an experimental road in south central

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, United States, built by Good Roads promoter

Samuel Hill Samuel Hill (13 May 1857 – 26 February 1931), was an American businessman, lawyer, railroad executive, and advocate of good roads. He substantially influenced the Pacific Northwest region's economic development in the early 20th ...

with the help of

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

and

landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manage ...

Samuel C. Lancaster. Laid in 1911 as the first

asphalt Asphalt most often refers to: * Bitumen, also known as "liquid asphalt cement" or simply "asphalt", a viscous form of petroleum mainly used as a binder in asphalt concrete * Asphalt concrete, a mixture of bitumen with coarse and fine aggregates, u ...

road in the state, it achieved low

grade Grade most commonly refers to: * Grading in education, a measurement of a student's performance by educational assessment (e.g. A, pass, etc.) * A designation for students, classes and curricula indicating the number of the year a student has reach ...

s with

horseshoe curve A horseshoe curve is a class of climbing curve in a roadbed that reverses turn direction (inflection) twice on either side of a single tight curve that varies through an angle of about 180 degrees or more. Such curves are more commonly found ...

s. It was bypassed by the present, straighter U.S. Route 97 after World War II. The road climbs the Columbia Hills from the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

and

Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway The Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway (SP&S; ) was a railroad in the northwest United States. Incorporated in 1905, it was a joint venture by the Great Northern Railway and the Northern Pacific Railway to build a railroad along the north bank ...

to Hill's planned

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

utopian community An intentional community is a voluntary residential community designed to foster a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork. Such communities typically promote shared values or beliefs, or pursue a common vision, which may be political ...

Maryhill, Washington Maryhill is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Klickitat County, Washington, United States. The population was 55 at the 2020 census. History Maryhill is named after the wife and daughter of regional icon Sam H ...

. The design became the model for the Figure-Eight Loops on the

Historic Columbia River Highway The Historic Columbia River Highway is an approximately scenic highway in the U.S. state of Oregon between Troutdale, Oregon, Troutdale and The Dalles, Oregon, The Dalles, built through the Columbia River Gorge between 1913 and 1922. As the firs ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, designed by Lancaster several years later. The road is now owned by the

Maryhill Museum of Art Maryhill Museum of Art is a small museum with an eclectic collection, located near what is now the community of Maryhill in the U.S. state of Washington. The museum is situated on a bluff overlooking the eastern end of the Columbia River Gorge. ...

. Except when rented, it is open to pedestrians and bicycles, but closed to motor vehicle traffic. The Maryhill Museum of Art rents use of the road for private events by automobile, motorcycle, bicycling, and longboarding clubs. The yearly International Downhill Federation World Cup Series downhill

longboarding Longboarding is a variation of skateboarding typified by the use of longer boards ("decks") with longer wheelbases and softer wheels. While longboards vary widely in shape and size, compared to street skateboards longboards are designed to be mo ...

and street luge event is held there.

References

External links

*Map:
Video of car driving up Maryhill at speed at private car club event
Roads in Washington (state) Columbia River Gorge 1911 establishments in Washington (state) {{Washington-road-stub