Sitting at the bottom of the falls, the Multnomah Falls Lodge has weathered floods, ice storms and fires for decades, all while welcoming millions of visitors. This year officially marks the 100th anniversary of the historic building.
Monday, officials and community members gathered outside the lodge to commemorate the centennial of the landmark, which was commissioned by the City of Portland in 1925. The Historic Lodge now houses the Multnomah Falls Lodge Restaurant, gift shop, snack bar, espresso bar and interpretive center.
The U.S. Forest Service took over the lodge in 1939. Since 1962, the Multnomah Falls Company has run it with a special use permit under the stewardship of the Buck Willis family.
“It takes a great deal of hard work and leadership to maintain the integrity of this 100-year-old historic building,” said Multnomah Falls Lodge Manager, Chris Willis during his speech.
The lodge welcomes tens of millions of visitors from all over the world, with over 2.5 million people visiting the site each year. That included Nada Kelani, visiting the falls from Houston.
“I also used to come here a lot with my family as a kid,” Kelani said of visits to Oregon. “There’s literally nothing like this. You could drive for hours and hit some of the most beautiful viewpoints ever.”
The centennial celebration featured speakers who expressed thanks to everyone who has helped with the lodge’s history and preservation. They thanked the Multnomah Falls Company and the U.S. Forest Service for their work. Friends of the Falls, a volunteer group, were also recognized for their efforts at the lodge’s visitor center.
Kerry Timchuck from the Oregon Historical Society spoke about the lodge’s history, noting that the story of the area began around 15,000 years ago when the current landscape and the gorge was first created by the Missoula floods.
He also mentioned Simon Benson, who donated over 1,400 acres of land that surrounds the falls, and architect Albert E. Doyle, who designed the lodge.
“The mission we all now share is to honor the history of this lodge and this place by ensuring that they will still be here for the next hundred years,” Timchuck said during the conference. “And the next hundred years after that.”
A ribbon cutting concluded the speeches, meant to signify the start of the next 100 years of the lodge, Willis said. The commencement was dedicated to Oregon’s firefighters who helped save the lodge during the Eagle Creek Fire.
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