Crown Point State Scenic Corridor and Vista House

Explore more … Millions of visitors driving along I-84 through the Columbia River Gorge zip right below the famous building atop a cliff near Exit 22. This rocky promontory perched 693 feet above the Columbia River is Crown Point State Scenic Corridor, and the building is Vista House.

This viewpoint along Highway 30 was the site of the 1916 dedication of the Columbia River Highway, the innovative European-style road that traced a winding path through the perilous Columbia River Gorge, linking Portland and The Dalles.

Vista House opened in 1918 as a glamorous rest stop and observatory for those traveling the new highway. This “comfort station” was a rest stop like no other, featuring marble floors, stained glass windows — and, of course, a stunning view. In the words of The Oregonian, it was “the finishing achievement for the greatest highway in America.”

Architect Edgar M. Lazarus designed the building to be functional, beautiful and commemorative: the rest stop served as a memorial to the settlers who had traveled the final stretch of the Oregon Trail along the Columbia River. Inside, stone panels are carved with the names of settler families. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, the building fulfills Lazarus’s vision as a “temple to the natural beauty of the Gorge.”