Here’s a series of photos from 1927, ten years after the opening of the Historic Highway, showing a young man and his Harley Davidson motorcycle. It must have been in the Winter as there seems to be snow and rock fall in the photos.
One of the photos clearly shows road signs with familiar destinations – Portland, Sandy, Bull Run, Gresham, Troutdale and the Columbia River Highway. The best part of the photo is the additional temporary sign that reads “Columbia River Highway Closed To Through Traffic” placed in on top of one of the road’s stone and concrete guard rails. The second one shows some stone rubble along a roadway which looks much like a winter day at unstable spots along the old road today.
A Day on the Historic Columbia River Highway When It Was New
The Birth of a Scenic Highway
In 1915, excitement filled the Columbia River Gorge just east of Troutdale, Oregon. Plans were underway for the construction of what would become the Historic Columbia River Highway.
At that time, access to the gorge remained limited. Traditionally, travelers relied on steam-powered sternwheelers from Portland. Over time, railroads were built, primarily for trade, but passenger trains soon carried visitors on day trips. Excursions to the waterfalls along the south side of the river became popular, with Multnomah Falls as a top attraction.
Horses and wagons were still common, but the rise of automobiles created demand for better roads. The existing dirt wagon roads were rough and unreliable. Recognizing the potential of a scenic automobile route, several prominent Portland businessmen imagined one of the first paved highways in the country. Their vision led to the creation of the Columbia River Highway.
Early Opposition and the Highway’s Rapid Growth
Although now considered a cultural treasure, not everyone supported the idea. Many residents still relied on horses, and only the wealthy owned automobiles. At the time, most people never expected to own a car, let alone use one for touring the Columbia River Gorge. Public support for funding the project remained uncertain.
Despite this, the highway was built. Within two decades, it became a major transportation route, carrying cars from central Oregon to the Willamette Valley. The rise of heavy trucks transporting goods further increased traffic. Soon, the highway was overburdened, prompting plans for a riverside road—what would eventually become Highway 84.
Exploring the New Road on Horseback
Construction on the Historic Columbia River Highway progressed in 1915, though its official dedication wouldn’t take place until 1917. That didn’t stop curious visitors from venturing out to admire the engineering marvel. Unlike today’s traffic-filled road, the highway then offered a peaceful setting. Some, like Harry and Alvida Calvert, even explored it on horseback.
Harry Calvert, a photographer from Oregon City, set out with his wife, Alvida, to survey the highway’s progress. They documented their journey through personal photographs—snapshots of their adventure and life together.
Capturing History: The Calverts’ Photographs
Their photos showcase familiar landmarks along the Historic Columbia River Highway, including:
Crown Point
Latourell Falls and its now-removed arched footbridge
Bishop’s Cap
Shepperd’s Dell Bridge
Multnomah Falls, including a rare image of one of them on the Simon Benson Bridge between the upper and lower tiers
Harry and Alvida took turns posing with their horse, Pat, capturing moments that transport us back in time.
A Ride That’s No Longer Possible
Today, a horseback ride along the Historic Columbia River Highway would be impractical. Yet, over a century ago, it was possible. Thanks to Harry and Alvida, we have a glimpse into a time when the highway was new, quiet, and full of promise.
Their photographs preserve a moment in history, reminding us of the visionaries who built this road and the travelers who experienced its early days
Sep 21, 2011 … About 14000 years ago, cataclysmic floods scoured out the Columbia River
Gorge. Early visionaries engineered an inspired drive along its …
“Dear Flo – Just a postal of us on a Trip Up The Columbia River Highway, Portland, Ore. Love to all.”
Addressed to: Miss Flo. McGuiness. 38 Gardner Avenue, Jersey City, New Jersey.
This is a unique set of postal cards that were made by the family using the photos that they made that day. It was quite common back in the early part of the 20th Century to have your photos printed on postcard stock. You could then send the cards off to friends and relatives across the country. In the group photo a camera is clearly seen in the left hand of the gentleman on the right. Most likely an early Kodak.
Although we don’t know how the folks in the photos area, I’m sure that their “Trip up The Columbia Highway” was very similar to a day on the Historic Columbia River Highway in today’s Columbia River Gorge.
27 Jul 2016 … A parade of antique cars traveled from Troutdale to the Gorge Discovery Center,
to experience the Historic Columbia River Highway in the …
Cross and Dimmit Postcards of The Columbia River Gorge and Historic Columbia River Highway.
Cross and Dimmitt were two of the most successful photographers in Portland back in the first part of the 20th Century.
Arthur B. Cross opened his photography studio in Portland Oregon in 1909. Five years later Edward L. Dimmit began working at Cross’s at his studio and two years later became partners with Cross, naming it “Cross and Dimmit”.
The Historic Columbia River Highway was dedicated in 1917 and quickly became a huge tourist draw. All along the new road built through the pristine and deeply beautiful Columbia River Gorge, roadhouses, restaurants and gift shops sprung up to supply the needs of the tourist traffic.
And around that very same time postcards became extremely popular due to the fact that one could buy a package of cards and forego lugging their own camera long, or to allow those without ne to have photos of the views, streams and waterfalls along the road. All of these factors came together to provide the new Cross and Dimmit venture with a steady stream of potential customers via the souvenirs shops as well as from the running boards of their Model T Ford. In time they had their own gift shop located at Crown Point near Vista House.
Cross and Dimmit created real photo postcards in large quantities and sold them individually as well as packs of a variety of scenes. Most everyone who toured the gorge back then bought some. Cross and Dimmit sold scenes from other areas, but the photos of the gorge are their most iconic photos. Today they’re some of the best photos of the Columbia River Gorge and the historic Columbia River Highway from that era, and because of the quantities that they made, are still easy to find.
This is a series of their most common cards of the Columbia Gorge. They start from Chanticleer Point, today referred to as The Women’s Forum near the town of Corbett. They then go along the highway from Crown Point and Vista House to the Rowena Loops near The Dalles Oregon.
Arthur Cross died in 1940 and Dimmit lived until 1963.
Views of Portland Oregon and the Columbia River Gorge – Antique Postcard Set
20 Assorted Views of Portland Oregon.
Here’s a great assortment of views of Portland Oregon and the Columbia River Gorge circa 1950. They’re printed using an offset printing process on canvas textured paper. Printed by the Angelus Commercial Studio in Portland, Oregon. The cards are the same as the postcards that the company printed but are half the size.
The set, labeled 20 Views of Portland Oregon and the Columbia River Gorge, takes one on a tour from Portland Oregon east through the Columbia River Gorge on the Historic Columbia River Highway to the Hood River Valley and then south on what is now Highway 35 to the south side of Mount Hood and the iconic historic Timberline Lodge.
This very same tour can be taken today via modern cars and improved highways in a day; A very full and satisfying day. The only things that have changed since the era that these cards were made are that the Columbia River Highway, Historic Highway 30 has been replaced with the more modern Highway 84 through the gorge. Also the old Mitchell Point Tunnel was demolished in 1966 during construction of Hwy 84, but there are efforts through the restoration of the old highway to consider restoring the tunnel by boring a new tunnel through Mitchell Point.
All of these Views of Portland Oregon and the Columbia River Gorge are available for your enjoyment today, but these old photos bring back a more bucolic era in the Portland and the Mount Hood countryside. One where tourism was more slow and laid back. One where the trip was about the ride and not the destination. One that allowed us to stop along the way and send a postcard or two.
Here’s a happy group of hikers exploring Columbia River Gorge Gorge around 1910 becoming a part of the Oneonta Gorge History . This slot canyon within the Columbia River Gorge and on the scenic Historic Columbia River Highway has been a popular location to explore for a very long time. Today on a hot Summer day it can be elbow to elbow with people.
Today there’s a log pile to negotiate and a stretch of water that can be chest to chin deep to make your way into the little canyon, but there’s an amazing waterfall at the end as a reward for the trek.
The Oneonta Gorge is a scenic gorge located in the Columbia River Gorge area
of the American state of Oregon. The U.S. Forest Service has designated it as a …
Oneonta Bluff prior to The Construction of the Historic Columbia River Highway
Here’s a rare view of Oneonta Bluff and the old railway bed prior to the construction of the Historic Columbia River Highway.
Oneonta Bluff and Railroad Tracks
Once construction of the road took place the construction of the tunnel allowed automobile passage through the basalt promontory. In time increased traffic and larger cars and trucks necessitated the relocation of the railroad and the highway to allow the cars to bypass the tunnel altogether. The tunnel was filled in 1948.
Oneonta Gorge Tunnel
Covered up and virtually forgotten, many people would stand on the old bridge that seemed to direct traffic directly into a solid rock wall.
In 2009, as a part of the restoration of the remaining segments of the old road, the tunnel was excavated and restored, including the wooden cribbing and rock facades.
Today the old tunnel is a pedestrian passage and witness to the old Columbia River’s history.
