Navigating Time: The Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria, Oregon
Where the mighty Columbia River collides with the restless Pacific Ocean lies one of the most storied stretches of coastline in North America — and at its heart stands a museum that captures every wave of that history. The Columbia River Maritime Museum is a living tribute to the river that built the Northwest, shaped its people, and continues to test their mettle to this day.
A River of Legends and Loss
Before the first explorers arrived, the Columbia River was a vital lifeline for Indigenous peoples — a source of food, trade, and culture. The Chinook and Clatsop tribes navigated its channels in cedar canoes long before it appeared on European maps. They understood its moods — the fogs that roll in like ghosts, the tides that can turn without warning, and the dangerous sandbars that earned this place its grim nickname: the “Graveyard of the Pacific.”
When European and American explorers finally reached the Columbia in the early 1800s, they found not a gentle river but a wild force of nature. The river mouth — where the Maritime Museum now stands — became both a gateway and a gauntlet for mariners. More than 2,000 ships have wrecked near the Columbia Bar over the last two centuries, and their stories fill the museum’s galleries with haunting reminders of bravery, tragedy, and human persistence.
The Dream of a Local Historian
The museum’s own story begins in 1962, with an Astoria native named Rolf Klep. After a successful career as an illustrator and naval artist on the East Coast, Klep returned home with a vision — to create a museum that would preserve and share the maritime heritage of the Columbia River region.
He started small, collecting artifacts from fishermen, shipbuilders, and local families who had worked the docks for generations. By 1963, with community support and an outpouring of donations, the museum opened its doors in Astoria’s old City Hall. It quickly became more than just a local collection — it was a gathering place for stories of survival and ingenuity.
Klep’s vision proved prophetic. The museum grew rapidly, fueled by Oregon’s deep connection to the sea and the curiosity of visitors eager to understand it. By the mid-1970s, it had outgrown its original home.
Anchored on the Waterfront
In 1982, the museum moved to its current site on the Astoria waterfront — a striking glass-and-steel building designed to reflect both the modern maritime world and the river’s restless character. The museum’s architecture invites light and motion, with massive windows that look out across the Columbia itself. Standing in its galleries, visitors can watch ships slide past on their way to the ocean, hear the moan of foghorns, and feel the river’s eternal pull.
The museum’s floating exhibit, the Lightship Columbia, rests docked beside the main building — a floating lighthouse that once warned ships of the Columbia River Bar’s deadly shoals. Visitors can climb aboard and imagine what it was like to serve on the vessel, anchored miles offshore in all weather, keeping the light burning for passing sailors.
Tales from the “Graveyard of the Pacific”
Inside, the museum’s exhibits trace the history of life and work on the Columbia River. There are stories of explorers like Captain Robert Gray, who in 1792 became the first American to navigate the river’s mouth, and of Lewis and Clark, who camped nearby in 1805 as they completed their epic cross-continental journey.
But the real heart of the museum lies in its chronicles of the working men and women who have wrestled with this river for generations — fishermen who risked everything for salmon, shipbuilders who forged fleets in Astoria’s heyday, and Coast Guard rescuers who continue to battle the waves to save lives.
A full-scale exhibit on the Columbia River Bar Pilots offers a gripping look at the specialized mariners who guide ships through the most treacherous river mouth in North America. In another gallery, interactive simulators allow visitors to “pilot” a tugboat or take command of a rescue mission in stormy seas — a thrilling, humbling experience that underscores the danger of this river.
From Cannery Row to Coast Guard Country
The Columbia River Maritime Museum doesn’t just celebrate heroism at sea — it also chronicles the industries that built Oregon’s coastal identity. Visitors can walk through detailed exhibits on the salmon canning boom of the 19th century, when Astoria was known as the “Salmon Capital of the World.” At its peak, more than 30 canneries lined the riverbanks, filling ships bound for San Francisco and beyond.
Photographs, tin labels, and machinery tell the story of immigrant laborers — Chinese, Scandinavian, Finnish — who powered the fishing industry and shaped the culture of Astoria itself. You can almost hear the hiss of steam and the clang of metal from the canneries that once filled these docks.
The museum also explores Astoria’s deep relationship with the U.S. Coast Guard, whose Pacific Northwest base of operations remains a vital presence today. The Coast Guard’s daring rescues along the Columbia River Bar are legendary — and the museum’s exhibits bring them vividly to life through videos, personal accounts, and immersive displays.
Preserving the Past, Charting the Future
Over the years, the Columbia River Maritime Museum has continued to evolve. A major renovation in 2002 added over 44,000 square feet of space, creating room for hands-on exhibits and educational programs that draw thousands of students each year.
Now, a new $30 million expansion, announced in 2024, promises to take the museum into its next era. Planned additions include a vast gallery dedicated to the Indigenous maritime cultures of the Columbia River basin — a long-awaited recognition of the first navigators of these waters — and an expanded education center to house more than 30,000 artifacts currently in storage.
As the museum looks toward its future, its mission remains the same: to preserve and share the stories of the Columbia and the people who have made a life upon it.
Visiting the Museum
The Columbia River Maritime Museum sits along Astoria’s scenic waterfront at 1792 Marine Drive, easily accessible from U.S. Highway 30. Most visitors spend at least two hours exploring the exhibits, but maritime buffs could easily linger half a day.
The Lightship Columbia is open for self-guided tours, and the museum’s 3D theater often screens short films about ocean storms, Coast Guard rescues, and marine wildlife. Outside, the Astoria Riverwalk and Astoria Riverfront Trolley make it easy to continue your exploration along the waterfront.
Admission (as of 2025) is around $16 for adults, $5 for children, and free for active military personnel. The museum is open daily, typically from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except major holidays. There’s plenty of free parking along the riverfront.
A Living Story of the Pacific Northwest
The river outside the window is the same one that carried canoes, sailing ships, and freighters across centuries. The fog that drifts in from the Pacific feels eternal, and so does the pulse of the tides. For anyone tracing the maritime soul of the Pacific Northwest, this museum is a compass point. It’s where Oregon’s seafaring past and present meet, where every tide tells a story, and where the river still calls out to those who dare to follow it.
