Clarence E. Mershon, East of the Sandy: The Columbia River Highway

...at the approach to the Vista House, W. Johnson opened an ice cream stand and confectionary (later Johnson's Vista Café), which was situated on the right side of the highway... Johnson family members operated the café until it was sold to Mr. and Mrs. M.R. Moore.

During the time the Johnson family owned the café, it was leased for a short period of time to Mrs. Gardner, who operated it as Gardner's Café.

Doris Emily worked for the Johnsons and stated, "He was very pleasant to work for."

...

In 1963, the structure was razed by the State of Oregon.

"Gardiner’s Cafe’, which opened in 1922 as Johnson’s Confectionary, sat next to the Vista House. In later years it was known as Vista Cafe’. It was torn down by the Forest Service in 1963."

pdxhistory.com http://www.pdxhistory.com/html/roadhouses.html

One source says it was razed bu the Forest Service, the other says the state... Since this is OPRD land, I am assuming it was done by the state, not the USFS.

December 3, 2014

It says c. 1970 on the photo below, but the Vista Cafe was supposedly torn down around 1963... I've got a picture from '63 with it still there, and it is still there in this one from several years later...

Do I have a bum source or did they mess up on the date below? I haven't had a chance to look up the details yet.

Links

PDXHistory.com: Columbia River Roadhouses

http://www.pdxhistory.com/html/roadhouses.html

CLICK HERE to continue exploring the highway