The Old Astoria City Hall, now known as the Clatsop County Historical Society Heritage Museum, is a historic building located in Astoria,

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, United States, that is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. The building served as the

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

of Astoria from 1905 until 1939. It was the first location of the

Columbia River Maritime Museum The Columbia River Maritime Museum is a museum of maritime history in the northwest United States, located about southeast of the mouth of the Columbia River in Astoria, Oregon. It has a national reputation for the quality of its exhibits a ...

, from 1963 to 1982, and has been the Heritage Museum since 1985.

History as city hall

The first Astoria city hall was designed and built in 1878 by Albert W. Ferguson. His son's firm of Ferguson & Houston also built the second building, located at 16th and Exchange streets, but the building's design was by

Emil Schacht Emil Schacht (November 20, 1854 – March 4, 1926) was a prominent architect in Portland, Oregon. Schacht's work was prolific from the 1890s until World War I and he produced commercial buildings including factories and warehouses as well as ...

. The new building would be larger than its predecessor, as well as more modern. Construction began in 1904 and was completed in June 1905. The second Astoria City Hall was formally dedicated on July 4, 1905. All city offices, as well as the city library, were located in the new building. In the 1930s, it was decided to move city hall to a location in

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

, as the location at 16th and Exchange streets was rather isolated; the original, 1878 city hall had also been located in downtown Astoria. The city used a

Public Works Administration The Public Works Administration (PWA), part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was created by the National Industrial Recove ...

grant to fund the conversion of a former bank building on Duane Street into a New City Hall."Astoria Bid Low on Two City Jobs: Remodeling of Buildings to Cost $39,309" (December 18, 1938). ''

The Sunday Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...

'' (Portland), p. 18. The city offices were moved out of the Old Astoria City Hall on Exchange Street, into the new premises, at the end of March 1939."School Offices To Be Moved" (March 27, 1939). ''The Oregonian'', p. 4.

Later use

Since the end of its function as city hall, the two-story building has been put to various other uses. In the 1940s, the city allowed the State of Oregon to use it as an annex to an

armory Armory or armoury may mean: * An arsenal, a military or civilian location for the storage of arms and ammunition Places *National Guard Armory, in the United States and Canada, a training place for National Guard or other part-time or regular mili ...

built at that time and located just to the east. Later, the

U.S.O. The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

used the building as its local headquarters."Undergoing changes" (April 28, 1987) (photograph with caption). ''The Oregonian'' (Willamette Valley edition), p. B4. It moved out in 1960, leaving the building vacant."Astoria Obtains Site For Maritime Museum" (June 24, 1962). ''The Sunday Oregonian'', p. 29. In 1963, the building was turned into the first

, which opened in August of that year."Seafood Packer Pledges $5,000 To Museum Fund" (September 21, 1963). ''The Oregonian'', Section 3, p. 7. It served this purpose for almost 20 years, until that museum moved to a new location on the riverfront, in 1982. The building was added to the

in 1984, as Astoria City Hall. To avoid confusion with the existing Astoria City Hall, the

Oregon Parks and Recreation Department The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD), officially known (in state law) as the State Parks and Recreation Department, is the government agency of the U.S. state of Oregon which operates its system of state parks. In addition, it has pro ...

identifies the building as "Astoria City Hall (Old)" in its list of registered historic properties in Oregon. In 1980, members of the Clatsop County Historical Society voted to purchase the Old City Hall and renovate it for use as a museum. The purchase was completed in 1985, and the first stage of the society's Heritage Museum (originally "Heritage Center") opened in 1985. Interior renovation and exterior restoration were carried out in 1987–88, funded by private grants and donations.

References

External links

Heritage Museum
– page on Clatsop County Historical Society website {{National Register of Historic Places Oregon 1905 establishments in Oregon City halls in Oregon Colonial Revival architecture in Oregon Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Oregon National Register of Historic Places in Astoria, Oregon City and town halls on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon Former seats of local government

History as city hall

Later use

See also

References

External links