CORBETT, Ore (KATU). — Vista House is set to reopen to visitors
in the Columbia River Gorge this coming weekend.

While the viewpoint and parking lot have remained open, Vista
House and its gift shop and café will be back open to the public.

The historic Columbia River Gorge attraction has been closed for
most of 2020 and 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Vista House opened in 1918 (above) 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.

Edgar Marks Lazarus
(June 6, 1868 – October 2, 1939)