From Monument to Icon: Astoria Column at 100

On July 22, 2026, the Astoria Column marks the 100th anniversary of its dedication. One hundred years later, the community is invited to celebrate this milestone with an evening of history, reflection, and festivity.

Attendees will enjoy cake, a short film, and a keynote presentation by public historian Zachary Stocks.

Stocks will present “Lost Monuments of the Northwest,” an engaging talk that explores an ambitious early 20th-century effort to highlight regional history. Exactly 100 years ago, the Great Northern Railway promoted its line as the most historic route in North America, sponsoring special train journeys and constructing monuments to honor the Northwest’s past. Today, many of those monuments have been overlooked, vandalized, or abandoned—leaving the Astoria Column as a rare and notable exception.