Oregon City Municipal Elevator, Oregon City

A little bit dirty at the bottom but when we got to the top there was a great view of the city and tons of information. Walking the stairs back down is really nice too. There is a beautiful landscapes waterfall.

This is an old landmark of Oregon City. The lookout has been there far longer than the elevator. There are lenticular photographs depicting what was and how the local landscape has changed...some for the worse...such as waterfalls destroyed by manufacturing. They run along the breadth of the half circle, concrete wall. The view is beautiful at some angles. You can see the small bridge, built in 1922, from overhead. There are some concerning cracks and signs shoring up is soon needed in the floor but it appears stable for now. It is interesting to read how the elevator was originally steam powered and took over three minutes to ascend. There are also 722 steps you can take instead. I did the first time I saw this lookout. A smooth, wheelchair friendly, downward sloped ramp feeds pedestrians under the train tracks and into the face of the elevator. There is no cost to enter and sometimes there are people on hand for questions or to explain facts, such as dotted outlines depict what once was and no longer is, as well as telling you about the lady of the mansion who fought the elevator as it was built in front of her palatial abode.