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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 2019)
T he C olumbia P ress February 22, 2019 3 society offers way to Experience Oregon Makeover: Post office, other Historical Oregon Historical Soci- A photo from ety recently unveiled its new the exhibit buildings part of plan 7,000-square-foot exhibit shows the 1905 Continued from Page 1 declined to speak directly to a reporter. “He won’t accept the grant and said he’d rather do the work himself,” she said. “But he wants to cooperate with what we want to do in terms of the beautification needs of the city.” There will be additional landscaping, some safety im- provements -- such as add- ing a walkway in front of the parking area -- and the build- ing will be painted to comple- ment the colors of City Hall. It’s a highly visible building at the core of downtown, said Kevin Cronin, Community Development director. A new lease with the federal government extends the post office’s presence there for another five years, Bridgens said. The grassy area at the cor- ner, which is owned by the city, is slated for a park pla- za that includes the veterans memorial. A landscape archi- tect is working on plans for benches, brickwork, shrubs and small trees that would make it a small community gathering place. The brown building across the street and behind War- renton Mini Mart could house a food court, Bridgens said, although those plans still are far in the future. The building’s owner is open to working with commercial ventures. The city’s 875-acre urban renewal district covers all of downtown, parts of Harbor Drive and some outlying ar- eas. It was established in 2007 to revitalize downtown and, although it’s a separate en- tity, is managed by the city commissioners who act as the Warrenton Urban Re- newal Agency. Recently, the group ex- panded its façade improve- ment program so that own- ers within the district can apply for grants to improve their properties. The agency will match up to $10,000 for qualifying projects in hopes of spurring new interest in the program. Previously, the grants would match only $5,000. Other development proj- ects in the works: • Plans were approved for a 104-foot Verizon Wireless tower at Warrenton High School. The tower, which includes a concrete pad and ground equipment within a fenced area, is adjacent to the football field at the back of the campus. There are no residences within 400 feet of the mac- rocell facility. The tower will fill a significant gap in cover- age for Verizon’s customers in Warrenton, the company said. Construction is expect- ed in the summer. • A hearing is set for March 14 on Clear Lake, a 15-lot subdivision that will extend Kalmia Avenue north toward the small Clear Lake and property owned by the North Coast Land Conservancy. The detached family homes are proposed by Gil Gramson’s Sandridge Con- struction. • Wayne DeWilde of Sham- rock Yachats LLC has sub- mitted an application to the city’s building department to expand a mini-storage facil- ity with 60 revitalized ship- ping containers. The project at 2385 S.E. Dolphin Ave. is in an area with other industrial busi- nesses and a derelict house on the property would be de- molished. “Experience Oregon,” which allows visitors to learn about the people, places, and events that have shaped the state. The Feb. 14 unveiling was on the state’s 160th birthday. “Experience Oregon is very aptly named,” said Kerry Tymchuk, executive director of the Oregon Historical So- ciety. “It is a state-of-the-art immersive experience.” There are priceless artifacts and breathtaking images, she said, along with unforgetta- ble stories of individuals who made and changed history. Visitors enter Experience Oregon through a panoramic theater that introduces major themes and sets the stage for the exhibit. Land and water are two of the most pervasive topics covered, displaying the diversity of Oregon’s land- Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition’s Bridge of Na- tions over Guild Lake in Port- land. The lake was filled in by the 1920s. Courtesy Oregon Historical Society scape, as well as people’s his- torical and ongoing relation- ships with its resources. Visitors follow a “river” along the floor to reinforce the im- portance of water to Oregon’s history, and to the many peo- ple who call the state home. “The design process for Ex- perience Oregon was truly cutting-edge, and is one of the aspects that makes this exhi- bition so unique,” Museum Director Helen B. Louise said. “Rather than having one sin- gle curator, the content and conceptualization for Experi- ence Oregon has been a col- laboration of stakeholders, making this such a rich ex- hibition, both in content and design.” The museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. Admission is $10. The museum is at 1200 S.W. Park Ave., Portland. Road work a storia • A project to replace six aging bridges along the Astoria water- front will continue through June 2020. • Seventh, Ninth and Eleventh streets will be rebuilt with an expected June opening. Con- struction on Sixth, Eighth and Tenth streets will begin in the summer and should be complete by June 2020. are repairing concrete under the bridge. Single-lane closures will be necessary. • Other bridges to be repaired in the same time frame along High- way 101 include the Cape Per- petua viaduct south of Yachats in Lincoln County and the Cape Creek Bridge north of Florence in Lane County. W ashington C ounty • A project that’s replacing the Beaver Creek Bridge over High- way 47 near Vernonia is expect- ed to be complete by May 30. The final paving and striping will occur in early spring. Sip, Savor & UnWined $40 ticket includes: C latsop C ounty • County crews will clean beach approaches in the Astoria district. Drivers should expect minor delays. • Roadside brush removal will be done in the Hamlet area and along Lewis & Clark Road. • Crews will continue road main- tenance on Taylorville Road. • Work on the Highway 101 bridge over the Neahkahnie Mountain chasm could cause delays through the end of 2020. Crews will be present from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. weekdays and - - - - UnWined Saturday, March 2 10 wine tastes tasting glass appetizers access to 140+ wines from 40 Oregon wineries - live music and more An intimate WINE TASTING EVENT previewing Crab, Seafood and Wine Festival wine competition entries at the Liberty Theatre in downtown Astoria. Tickets available at the Chamber or at oldoregon.com. Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce · (503) 325-6311
