20th and 21st centuries

In 1883, and again in 1922, downtown Astoria was devastated by fire, partly because it was mostly wood and entirely raised off the marshy ground on pilings. Even after the first fire, the same format was used, and the second time around the flames spread quickly again, as collapsing streets took out the water system. Frantic citizens resorted to dynamite, blowing up entire buildings to stop the fire from going further.^[22][23]

[show]Panoramic views of Astoria in the early 20th century

The Port of Astoria in 2009.

Astoria has served as a port of entry for over a century and remains the trading center for the lower Columbia basin, although it has long since been eclipsed by Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, as an economic hub on the coast of the Pacific Northwest. Astoria's economy centered on fishing, fish processing, and lumber. In 1945, about 30 canneries could be found along the Columbia; however, in 1974, the Bumblebee Seafood corporation moved its headquarters out of Astoria and gradually reduced its presence until closing its last Astoria cannery in 1980.^[24] The lumber industry likewise declined; Astoria Plywood Mill, the city's largest employer, closed in 1989, and the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway discontinued service to Astoria in 1996.^[25]

The Astoria–Megler Bridge.

From 1921 to 1966, a ferry route across the Columbia River connected Astoria with Pacific County, Washington. In 1966, the Astoria–Megler Bridge was opened. The bridge completed U.S. Route 101 and linked Astoria with Washington on the opposite shore of the Columbia, replacing the ferry service.^[26]
Today, tourism, Astoria's growing art scene, and light manufacturing are the main economic activities of the city. Logging and fishing persist, but at a fraction of their former levels.^[27] It is a port of call for cruise ships since 1982, after $10 million in pier improvements to accommodate these larger ships. To avoid Mexican ports of call during the Swine Flu outbreak of 2009, many cruises were re-routed to include Astoria. The residential community The World visited Astoria in June 2009.^[28] The town's seasonal sport fishing tourism has been active for several decades^{[29] [30] [31]} and has now been supplanted with visitors coming for the historic elements of the city. The more recent microbrewery/brewpub scene^[32] and a weekly street market^[33] have helped popularized the area as a destination.

The Astoria Column.

In addition to the replicated Fort Clatsop, another point of interest is the Astoria Column, a tower 125 feet (38 m) high, built atop Coxcomb Hill above the town, with an inner circular staircase allowing visitors to climb to see a panoramic view of the town, the surrounding lands, and the Columbia flowing into the Pacific. The tower was built in 1926 with financing by the Great Northern Railway and Vincent Astor of the Astor family, the great-grandson of John Jacob Astor, in commemoration of the city's role in the family's business history and the region's early history.^[34][35]
Since 1998, artistically-inclined fishermen and women from Alaska and the Pacific Northwest have traveled to Astoria for the Fisher Poets Gathering, where poets and singers tell their tales to honor the fishing industry and lifestyle.^[36]
Astoria is also the western terminus of the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail, a 4,250 miles (6,840 km) coast-to-coast bicycle touring route created in 1976 by the Adventure Cycling Association.^[37]
Three United States Coast Guard cutters: the Steadfast, Alert, and Fir, call the port of Astoria home.^[38]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.11 square miles (26.18 km²), of which 6.16 square miles (15.95 km²) is land and 3.95 square miles (10.23 km²) is water.^[3]

Climate

Astoria lies within the Mediterranean climate zone (Köppen Csb), with very mild temperatures year-round, some of the most consistent in the contiguous United States; winters are mild for this latitude (it usually remains above freezing at night) and wet. Summers are cool, although short heat waves can occur. Rainfall is most abundant in late fall and winter and is lightest in July and August, averaging approximately 67 inches (1,700 mm) of rain each year.^[39] Snowfall is relatively rare, occurring in only three-fifths of years. Nevertheless, when conditions are ripe, significant snowfalls can occur.
Astoria is tied with Lake Charles, Louisiana, and Port Arthur, Texas, as the most humid city in the contiguous United States. The average relative humidity in Astoria is 89% in the morning and 73% in the afternoon.^[40]
Annually, there are an average of only 4.2 afternoons with temperatures reaching 80 °F (26.7 °C) or higher, and 90 °F or 32.2 °C readings are rare. Normally there are only one or two nights per year when the temperature remains at or above 60 °F (15.6 °C).^[41] There are an average of 31 mornings with minimum temperatures at or below the freezing mark. The record high temperature was 101 °F (38.3 °C) on July 1, 1942. The record low temperature was 6 °F (−14.4 °C) on December 8, 1972, and on December 21, 1990.
There are an average of 191 days with measurable precipitation. The wettest “rain year” was from July 1920 to June 1921 with 109.23 inches (2,774.4 mm) and the driest from July 2000 to June 2001 with 42.09 inches (1,069.1 mm). The most rainfall in one month was 36.07 inches (916.2 mm) in December 1933, and the most in 24 hours was 5.56 inches (141.2 mm) on November 25, 1998.^[42] The most snowfall in one month was 26.9 inches (0.68 m) in January 1950,^[43][44] and the most snow in 24 hours was 12.5 inches (0.32 m) on December 11, 1922.^[42]