The Other Side of That Dumpster

Astoria, Oregon ~ August 15, 2001

Dumpster Painting by Diane Beeston

I featured this dumpster along the River Walk in an earlier post, and it shows the decorated trash recepticle from its other side. Recently I found these shots in my archives. The caption of the older post is even more poignant today, and it's not only the dumpster that's gone, but also the buildings and access to the pier.

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6th Street Pier and Number 10

Astoria, Oregon ~ January 25, 2011

I went out without my good camera today, so I bring you phone pictures of the burned-out remains of 6th Street Pier and a corner of the adjacent Number 10 Sixth Street building. They're behind a chain link fence, and for a good reason. Naturally, people want to explore, but it's dangerous. With parts of the floor missing and structures occasionally still crashing down inside the buildings, it's not a safe place to be.

I have not been close to the buildings often since they burned, but one day I saw a crane barge pulled up next to the pier, and I assume they dismantled parts that could easily be hauled away. I don't know if anyone is sure at this time whether there will be rebuilding or demolition, but when buildings are this old, there are additional aspects to consider, such as heating systems that may be so out of date that "not up to code" is a totally inadequate term. Word on the street is that it will be awhile before much can be done, and there is still investigating and planning before significant changes can be made. Speaking of investigating, once again, the word on the street is that the cause of the fire is still not certain. The most likely scenario is that an accidental electrical fire in the Cannery Cafe (above) spread quickly across the pier to Number 10. 

There were many, many people and businesses affected by this fire more than I was affected, but I wanted to mention again how sad it feels to me personally to see this mess. This pier has been a destination on many of my walks over the years, and I enjoyed coming here for other reasons. Pictures of this pier encouraged me to choose Astoria over several other locations when I moved here in 2001. Important buildings, and indeed the entire downtown area, have been taken out by fires over the years. It is an aspect of Astoria's history that seems doomed to be repeated in a town where we love our antique Victorian wood buildings, but it is always devastating to someone. We will see what the future brings to 6th Street and Number 10. I'll keep you posted. I will also post some pictures from better days when I come across them.

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Astoria Fire: A Sad Day

Astoria, Oregon ~ December 17, 2010

It all looks fairly placid, but last night and into the morning, two much-frequented and well-loved iconic Astoria buildings were completely gutted by fire. (I've also shared a very clear and telling video by Chris Patenaude on this blog's Facebook Page.) No one "on the ground" was injured; one of the approximately 80 firefighters on the scene had some damage to one shoulder, according to accounts I've read this morning. Several people took videos of the conflagration in the night. Not only are as many as 10 businesses homeless this morning, but this location was a favorite of locals and tourists alike.

Gunderson's Cannery Cafe (a favorite of mine since I arrived in Astoria and a place I've especially enjoyed lately), on the left, is the most talked-about casualty, but there was also a restaurant inside of Number 10 Sixth Street (on the right) that many of us enjoyed at lunch time. The prominent red roof in the middle of the picture is the 6th Street Viewing Platform, another place I cherished. I couldn't tell if it had sustained any damage.

You can look on Google for Astoria fire and see what comes up. At the moment, I'm sad, tired for other reasons, and need to get to work.

Number 10 Sixth Street this morning. At the moment, I don't have time to go into my thoughts or list the businesses that were inside. Suffice it to say, it's a sad day for a lot of people, and not only the owners of the property and businesses.

How many times have I gone in the door on the far right? I used to walk though the building as I was strolling the River Walk in order to look at the paintings by local artists, and I've enjoyed lunch at the Lazy Spoon Cafe just to the right of that doorway. Clatsop Behavioral Center helped many, many people with their counseling and groups, and upstairs was a remarkable refurbished Victorian suite (quite big, maybe 4 bedrooms and an incredible view) where I attended two events, and it could be rented for weekend getaways. I have a number of photos of these two buildings "in life," but they're filed by date, so I'll post them as I find them. Two of my all-time favorite pictures on this blog are of the 6th Street Pier and its buildings:

. Festive banners on the 6th Steet Pier with the now-burned buildings on either side of the walk

. The lighter colored building on the right is Number 10 6th Street

I got a comment and an e-mail about Number 10 having been the Bumblebee Cannery. I should have mentioned it before, but it was before my time here. Check out the comments linked below, and also the following e-mail:

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I didn't see any mention that 10 6th st. used to be Bumblebee Tuna's main offices. And it set vacant till Chester Trubuco took it over and made something of it. The fire is just many that dotted the waterfront of Astoria. I've watched many buildings burn down on the waterfront over the years. It is sad to see Chester's Dream go up in smoke. But the old facility had seen its better days and it was sad to see it go. One of the landmark was the big radio tower and antenna which used to be on the top of the building for many years. It was given to Sunset Empire Amateur Radio Club many years ago and was taken down piece by piece.

The city looses another major landmark.

When people visit the East Basin they forget or don't know about the building of George and Barker that was turned into a fish buying station and burned down in the 80's. It had a long pier and a building at the end which they stored some personal belongings. And it burned down this community has seen its share of spectacular fires over the years since the big fire since Dec. 8th 1922 every few years we have had a big fire. Which one is going to be next?

The way this city is constructed a fire in a basement could cause a good part of the city to go again!

What happened to our fire boat? Did they think we would have no more fires next to the water so they had to get rid of it?

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Good question. I was also wondering about the fireboat. Don't we have them at some of the demos during Regatta?

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