Oregon City Elevator/Willamette Falls

Somehow, I didn't know about the Oregon City Elevator. Mom says I may have been there as a kid, but I definitely do not remember it. I don't even know how I heard about it this time around. I do know I heard that it was the only "vertical street in the world." I think it may have been on the radio. I don't go down to that part of the metro area often, so I never even noticed it. Believe me, you'd notice it if you drove by (see the pictures below).

Let's just say that if this is a vertical street, I'm . . . I don't know . . . Betty White. It's an elevator. It's not even a very nice elevator. I'm glad we did it, but I wasn't impressed. I was even less impressed by Oregon City itself. As I said, I haven't been there in awhile if ever, but it was really run down. It seemed like there might be some good potential, but there was nothing much going for it this time. A good urban renovation could be good for this place. I didn't want to turn right back around and head back up the elevator, though, so we walked around down to the falls.

Willamette Falls is another sad reminder of what could be. The river seemed polluted, but it was probably just the debris from it being higher than normal. The run down factories built on the sides of the falls were the big problem, though. It wasn't even the 'neat old' type of factory, just a really run down paper mill that looked and smelled bad. The falls are big and powerful and still an impressive site, but it's certainly no picnic place in the making.

Back to the elevator. I can do that because it was used to get back, too. And to give it credit, it is the only elevator that connects a street on two ends, but it's not like you can drive into it. There is a nice view from the top, nothing touristy about the ride (the attendant didn't say a word to us - and why is she even there? I can push a button). It wouldn't have been so bad if it hadn't been for the "art project" of c. 2004. There may have been some lovely pictures, but they were all that cheap greeting card thing where if you look at it from one angle you see one thing and if you look at it from another you see another. I, personally, never can really see a full picture in one of those things. Anyway, we took the elevator back to the top, got in the car and drove off. Zoom zoom.

Here are the specifics:

Fee: None

Pets: Allowed, on leash

Facilities: None
Waterway: Willamette River
Waterfall Type: Block
Round Trip Hike: Roadside
Hiking Difficulty (out of 5): 0

Camping: No

Season: Year round

Coordinates: Elevator - 45.356918, -122.607701; Falls - 45.35239, -122.61763

Governmental Agency Land: Presumably Oregon City

Nearest town: Oregon City, Oregon (in town)

Nearest 10,000+ city: Oregon City, Oregon (in town)

County: Clackamas, Oregon

My rating (out of 6): 3 for beauty, 5 for crowds, 1 for play availability, 1 for surroundings - 2.5 average

More Information: Elevator; Falls

My Current Location: Home - Portland, Oregon

Oregon City Elevator:
Part of the view from the top:
Willamette Falls: