Suomi Hall

This is the back of the Finnish Brotherhood's Suomi Hall, showing both the Finnish flag and the U.S. flag in paint. The brotherhood and/or building were established in 1886. That's an important date for me, as well, since it's the date my ancestors helped found the town where I grew up. I took this photo last April 5, but the trees look similar at this time of year, too. The back of the hall faces the Maritime Memorial seen in this post just across the grass. The curve of the Astoria-Megler bridge can be seen in the background of the Suomi Hall on the other side of Marine Drive. Also across Marine Drive is the Finnish Sauna, which has appeared in two posts and the Old Finnish Meat Market, which I haven't shown yet. This small part of Astoria is known as Uniontown.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

"The Hottest Spot in Town"

Back when the bricks were still brown and not painted an unnatural bright red, this establishment was billed as "The Hottest Spot in Town." I wouldn't doubt it! It sounds like a nice place to be on a drizzly Astoria, Oregon, rainy day. Unfortunately, it's closed, but I'm not sure when it ceased to function as the local family bath house. You can get a glimpse of one of the tubs inside as well as the historic diesel steam boiler on this site.

The sauna ("Union Steam Baths") is on Marine Drive right across the street from the Suomi Hall and down the block from the Old Finnish Meat Market (now a coffee house). In the upper left of the photo, you can see a bit of the curved ramp where vehicles lift off from their earthbound state and launch themselves onto the great bridge that spans the Columbia. (I'm being fanciful, but it almost feels like that.) In fact, you can see a bit of the bridge structure reflected in the window of the steam baths. I wonder if they will ever re-open. I hope so.