Multnomah
Falls Lodge
Old Columbia River
Highway, Bridal Veil Vicinity
Multnomah County, 1925
Designed by prominent Portland
architect A.E. Doyle, the Multnomah Falls Lodge was constructed in 1925 by the
city of Portland. The area around Multnomah
Falls, including the Lodge site, was donated to the city of Portland
in 1915 by wealthy Oregon
businessman Simon Benson, a major promoter and benefactor of the original Columbia
River Highway. The lodge was intended to
capitalize on the booming tourist trade through the Columbia Gorge and remains
a very active recreation area. Designed in the Cascadia
style, the lodge was constructed by the Waale-Shattuck
Company for a cost of 40,000 dollars. The Multnomah Falls Lodge was listed on
the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.
Mosier Twin Tunnels
Old Columbia River
Highway, Mosier Vicinity
Wasco County, 1921
The Mosier Twin Tunnels were
designed by Conde B. McCullough, State Bridge
Engineer for the Highway Department. The tunnels were jointly constructed by
A.D. Kern of Portland and the State
Highway Division in 1921. The tunnels were originally lined with timber for
support and stretched 350-feet in distance. In addition, a finish of stone
masonry protected all four portals. There were also "adits"
(view openings in the tunnel walls which looked out over the river), and an
observation gallery between the tunnels with access to a "cliff walk"
- a pedestrian walkway along the outside of the tunnels built onto the face of
the cliff. The photographs on this page portray the appearance of the west
portal entrance in 1935 and in 1995. The tunnels were closed and filled with
rubble in the early 1950's. Oregon Department of Transportation policy states
that "preserving and restoring the scenic and unique characteristics, and
historic integrity" of the remaining segments of the Old
Columbia River Highway is of great importance. For
this reason, the Mosier Twin Tunnels, along with a several-mile long segment of
the old highway between Hood River
and Mosier, have recently been restored and re-opened for use by pedestrians
and bicyclists. The picturesque cliff-walk and adits
have also been restored, but there is no longer any pedestrian access to the
cliff-walk, for safety reasons. Please see the link for the 1998 photograph of
the rehabilitated west portal entrance to the Mosier Twin Tunnels.
Mosier Twin Tunnels,
West Portal
Old Columbia River
Highway, Mosier Vicinity
Wasco County, 1998 Rehabilitation
Oregon Department of Transportation policy regarding
sections of the Old Columbia River Highway
encourages the restoration of "scenic and unique characteristics" of
the highway, and the maintenance of the historic integrity of resources along
the roadway. The Mosier Twin Tunnels, which have been filled in with rubble and
closed to traffic since the 1950s, were recently reopened and rehabilitated,
and significant portions of the original design elements remain intact. Today,
the Mosier Twin Tunnels and a several-mile long segment of the old highway
between Hood River
and Mosier, are undergoing a major restoration effort
for use by pedestrians and bicyclists. Evident in this photo is the
reconstructed "cliff-walk" which spectacular, if a bit scary, views
of the magnificent Columbia River Gorge. Refer to the link to the Mosier Twin
Tunnels for a historic view of the portal.
Mosier Tunnel
Near Mosier
Wasco County, 1921
The Mosier Twin Tunnels were cut into solid basalt and are
350 feet in length. The tunnels were designed by J.A. Elliott, the locating
engineer for the Hood River
to Mosier section of the Columbia River Highway
or C.B. McCullough, the Oregon State Bridge Engineer. The structure was constructed
in 1921 by the A.D. Kern, Portland
at a cost of $219,340. The tunnels were difficult to construct and maintain due
to the unstable columnar basalt and were bypassed and abandoned in 1954, when
the highway was realigned to run next to the Columbia River.
The tunnels were partially reclaimed by rock slides and were backfilled with
rubble, but restored in 1998 as a capstone for the Historic Columbia River
Highway State Trail.
Parapet Wall at Mosier
Tunnels
Old Columbia River
Highway, Mosier Vicinity
Wasco County, 1921
Samuel Lancaster imported and hired Italian masons and
craftsman to build the arched parapet guard walls along the Old
Columbia River Highway. Most of the building stone
came directly off the highway construction sites. To shape the larger stones,
the masons used feathers and wedges to gently split the rocks apart. Smaller
rocks were shaped with stone hammers and bushing hammers. The random rubble
pattern of the guard wall near the Mosier Twin Tunnels reveals the individual
style of the mason and his preference for larger stones. Semi-elliptical arches
are the repeating pattern in this 30" high guard wall. The concrete grout
has been recessed 1" to 1 and 1/2" from the rock face. The walls have
been topped with a concrete cap screed flush and covered in sand mortar.
Recently, the Oregon Department of Transportation has undertaken an extensive
restoration program to repair damaged sections of the historic parapet
railings. The damaged railing shown above has been fully reconstructed as part
of the re-opening of the Mosier Twin Tunnels.
Oneonta
Tunnel
Old Columbia River
Highway, West of Multnomah Falls
Multnomah County, 1914
The Oneonta Tunnel, built in 1914, is 125-feet from portal
to portal. Because of the natural conditions, only 18-feet of rock was left to support the side of the mountain (205-feet
thick) next to the railroad. In order to prevent thousands of tons of rock from
cascading down onto the adjacent railroad tracks when blasting began, it was
necessary to go to considerable lengths to strengthen the cliff before digging
into the tunnel. The weaker sections of rock were plugged with concrete before
the blasting started. Continuous rockfall, both
inside and outside the tunnel, forced the Highway Department to re-route the
highway. The 1920 photograph illustrates the original west portal entrance of
the Oneonta Tunnel before it was abandoned and filled with rubble in the late
1940's. The 1995 photograph depicts current conditions, where the original
portal is obscured by vegetation at the end of the Oneonta
Gorge Creek Bridge
(directly west of the portal).
West
Multnomah Falls Viaduct Railing
Old Columbia River
Highway, Multnomah Falls
Multnomah County, 1914
Both east and west of Multnomah Falls
are long "half-viaducts" or "side-hill viaducts" built to
carry the roadway in the narrow area between the steep hillside and the
adjacent railroad. With the uphill side of the viaduct resting on the slope and
the downhill side elevated on columns, these viaducts are successful
alternatives to cutting into the unstable slopes to excavate a roadbed. The
West Multnomah Falls Viaduct is 400 feet long and consists of twenty 20-foot
slab spans. It was designed by K.R. Billner, under
the supervision of S.C. Lancaster, and was built by the Pacific Bridge Company,
Portland. The railing in this
contemporary photograph consists of graceful concrete semi-elliptical arches
supported by pour concrete posts with tapered tops connected by a thin
horizontal concrete railing.
Eagle Creek-Tanner
Creek Project
Old Columbia River
Highway, Eagle Creek-Tanner Creek
Multnomah County, 1998 Rehabilitation
When the Interstate Highway
system was re-routed beginning in the 1950s, portions of the old Columbia
River Highway were demolished, abandoned, or
bypassed. Recent restoration efforts on the Eagle Creek-Tanner Project opened
up a section of the original Columbia River Highway
extending from Tanner Creek,
up and over the Toothrock Tunnel, and down to the Eagle
Creek Bridge.
This bypassed segment of the original highway is now open for pedestrian and
bicycle access.
Vista House
Old Columbia River
Highway, Crown Point
Multnomah County, 1918
Constructed between 1916 and 1918 on Crown
Point, the Vista House has served as an observatory
and rest stop for Columbia River Gorge travelers since that date. The building,
which has achieved National Landmark status, was designed in the German Jugendstill style by Portland
architect Edgar Lazarus, and constructed of reinforced concrete. It was
dedicated to early Oregon
pioneers in ceremonies in May 1918. In 1938, the Vista House and Crown
Point site were donated to the state as a park by the
city of Portland and Multnomah
County.
Historic
Columbia River Highway Home
Geo-Environmental
Services Home
Oregon Department of
Transportation Home
Please email James
Norman for more information.
