Crown Point Viaduct

Route 2

Built: 1914

Post Card (Reproduction): Crown Point, 1915Crown Point, 1915, Photo by Weister Published by Friends of the Vista House. From the collection of A. F. Litt

"In 1910, the Multnomah County surveyor suggested that a road from the 'summit' to Latourell was not practical. Lancaster, assessing the situation at Crown Point, came up with a solution that involved building concrete piers along the cliff to support the highway. He placed concrete light posts every twenty feet along the protective railing on the outer edge of the viaduct that circles Crown Point, which, when lighted, does indeed provide Thor's Heights with a 'crown.'"

Mershon, East of the Sandy III, 42

1. AERIAL VIEW OF CROWN POINT VIADUCT AND VISTA HOUSE, LOOKING SOUTHEAST. SAME PHOTO AS HAER No. OR-36-17. - Historic Columbia River Highway, Crown Point Viaduct, Encircling Vista House at Crown Point, Troutdale, Multnomah County, ORDigital ID: (None) hhh or0364.photos.354569p http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.or0364/photos.354569pReproduction Number: HAER ORE,26-TROUT.V,1C--1Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.printhttps://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/or0364.photos.354569p/resource/

Robert W. Hadlow, Columbia River Highway Historic District, National Historic Landmark Nomination

CS4. Structure: Crown Point Viaduct, No. 4524 HAER No. OR-36-C

Location: HMP 23.9

Date: 1914

Designer: K. P. Billner, Oregon State Highway Dept.

Builder: Pacific Bridge Company, Portland

Owner: Oregon Department of Transportation

This 560-foot spiral viaduct was constructed of reinforced concrete and runs for 225 degrees of a circle around Crown Point. It functions as a 7-foot-wide sidewalk and curb with a 4-foot-high parapet wall on the outside of a 24-foot roadway cut into the rock formation. A dry masonry retaining wall stabilizes the hillside above and below the viaduct and masonry parapet walls that ring Vista House (see under “Buildings”), the sandstone public comfort station completed on top of Crown Point in 1918.

Hadlow, Landmark Nomination, 17

"The viaduct and roadway, which curve around the northern tip of Crown Point, were completed in 1914. It was the first structure build under the supervision of Sam Lancaster in Multnomah County. The 560 foot long viaduct is made of reinforced concrete and wraps around the crest of Crown Point."

Ken Manske, A Traveler's Guide to the Historic Columbia River Highway. Gresham, OR: M&A Tour Books. (Crown Point 2)

18. CROWN POINT AND VISTA HOUSE LOOKING 3 DEGREES NORTH. - Historic Columbia River Highway, Troutdale, Multnomah County, ORDigital ID: (None) hhh or0386.photos.354669p http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.or0386/photos.354669pReproduction Number: HAER ORE,26-TROUT.V,1--18Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.printhttps://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/or0386.photos.354669p/resource/

Crown Point from Rooster Rock State ParkColumbia River Gorge, Oregon. June 5, 2011

5. VIEW UNDER CROWN POINT VIADUCT LOOKING WEST. DRY RUBBLE MASONRY RETAINING WALL ON LEFT. CONCRETE COLUMN AND CROSS MEMBER IN FOREGROUND. FAR COLUMN IS SPALLLING. - Historic Columbia River Highway, Crown Point Viaduct, Encircling Vista House at Crown Point, Troutdale, Multnomah County, ORDigital ID: (None) hhh or0364.photos.354573p http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.or0364/photos.354573pReproduction Number: HAER ORE,26-TROUT.V,1C--5Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.printhttps://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/or0364.photos.354573p/resource/

6. VIEW UNDER CROWN POINT VIADUCT. NOTE SPALLING COLUMN IN FOREGROUND. - Historic Columbia River Highway, Crown Point Viaduct, Encircling Vista House at Crown Point, Troutdale, Multnomah County, ORDigital ID: (None) hhh or0364.photos.354574p http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.or0364/photos.354574pReproduction Number: HAER ORE,26-TROUT.V,1C--6Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.printhttps://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/or0364.photos.354574p/resource/

BridgeHunter.com: Crown Point Viaduct

Overview Bridge over Crown Point on Historical Columbia River Highway

Location Multnomah County, Oregon

Status Open to traffic

History Built 1914

Builders

- Karl P. Billner (Design Engineer)

- Pacific Bridge Co. of Portland, Oregon (Prime Contractor)

- Robert Lee Ringer (Sub-Contractor)

- Samuel Lancaster (Highway Engineer)

Design

A half-viaduct designed to carry pedestrians around the outer edge of a spiral section of roadway around the top of a 725' promontory on the Historic Columbia River Highway. Ingenious use of reinforced-concrete and rubble masonry to create an aesthetically pleasing structure.

(HAER ORE,26-TROUT.V,1C)

Dimensions

Length of largest span: 20.0 ft.

Total length: 560.1 ft.

Deck width: 28.9 ft.

Recognition

Posted to the National Register of Historic Places

Inventory numbers

OR 04524 (Oregon Dept. of Transportation structure number)

BH 42385 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

BridgeHunter.com: Crown Point Viaducthttps://bridgehunter.com/or/multnomah/bh42385/

3. RAILING DETAIL AT CROWN POINT SHOWING OVERLOOK AND VIADUCT, LOOKING NORTH. PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN FROM THE OBSERVATION DECK OF VISTA HOUSE. - Historic Columbia River Highway, Crown Point Viaduct, Encircling Vista House at Crown Point, Troutdale, Multnomah County, ORDigital ID: (None) hhh or0364.photos.354571p http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.or0364/photos.354571pReproduction Number: HAER ORE,26-TROUT.V,1C--3Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.printhttps://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/or0364.photos.354571p/resource/

2. ROAD-LEVEL VIEW OF CROWN POINT VIADUCT AT REAR OF VISTA HOUSE SHOWING SIDEWALK, ROADWAY, AND STAIRCASE IN RETAINING WALL. - Historic Columbia River Highway, Crown Point Viaduct, Encircling Vista House at Crown Point, Troutdale, Multnomah County, ORDigital ID: (None) hhh or0364.photos.354570p http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.or0364/photos.354570pReproduction Number: HAER ORE,26-TROUT.V,1C--2Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.printhttps://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/or0364.photos.354570p/resource/

4. PERSPECTIVE OF ROAD LOOKING NORTH AT CROWN POINT HALF VIADUCT AND RETAINING WALL. WASHINGTON STATE IN BACKGROUND. - Historic Columbia River Highway, Crown Point Viaduct, Encircling Vista House at Crown Point, Troutdale, Multnomah County, ORDigital ID: (None) hhh or0364.photos.354572p http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.or0364/photos.354572pReproduction Number: HAER ORE,26-TROUT.V,1C--4Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.printhttps://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/or0364.photos.354572p/resource/

ODOT - 2013 - Advisory Committee 2013 Year End Review Presentation

Photo Currently Unavailable

Crown Point from Rooster Rock Parking Lot (2013)Rooster Rock State Park, Oregon. January 20, 2013.A. F. Litt 2013

Crown Point Viaduct

Route 2

Built: 1914

Robert W. Hadlow, Columbia River Highway Historic District, National Historic Landmark Nomination

"The viaduct and roadway, which curve around the northern tip of Crown Point, were completed in 1914. It was the first structure build under the supervision of Sam Lancaster in Multnomah County. The 560 foot long viaduct is made of reinforced concrete and wraps around the crest of Crown Point."

BridgeHunter.com: Crown Point Viaduct

Builders

Design

Dimensions

Recognition

Inventory numbers

Links

BridgeHunter.com: Crown Point Viaduct

Library of Congress: Historic American Buildings Survey, Engineering Record, Landscapes Survey

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