The building looked to advertise its gift shop primarily, but it was a temporary banner. There where freighter ships at anchor in the river, and one can be seen immediately to the left of glass windows. The picture of the huge anchor being held by an old man, has a large chain attached. I could only move one link, not lift it.
One of the first displays was this three cylinder steam engine, lots of moving parts.
The first big room had several boats on display. These were mostly boats that were used on the river, and crossed the bar to fish in the ocean, except for the Coast Guard boat used for rescue of the fishermen.
This display is a rescue boat tipped up on end, showing the extreme storm conditions that the Coast Guard rescue crews endure.
One room was dedicated to the military history of the Columbia River, and this is a 22ft long torpedo that was the type used on WWII Subs.
There were many scale models of paddle wheelers and sail boats that saw use on the Columbia River.
The early history of the river was primarily for the trade routes and the local history of the fisheries industries, and not so much of its military use.
This diving suit was dated pre-1900, and the signs tell of how risky this job was. The canoe was made by burning and scraping the log and cutting away everything that didn’t look like it needed to be a canoe, the sign dates it in the late 1800s.
During our pass through the gift shop, I found a Astoria T-shirt just my size.
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