Corbett and Crown Point

The unincorporated community of Corbett sits at the heart of the Historic Columbia River Highway, one of the first scenic byways in the country. Construction began in nineteen thirteen under engineer Samuel Lancaster, who insisted the road serve beauty before speed, threading waterfalls and viewpoints rather than blasting straight through. Just above Corbett, at Crown Point, architect Edgar Lazarus completed the Vista House in nineteen eighteen, an octagonal Art Nouveau rotunda perched seven hundred thirty-three feet above the river.

It was built as a rest stop and pioneer memorial, and it became one of the most photographed buildings in Oregon. The community itself is named for a local family, and it became the quiet residential anchor of the corridor after the highway put the gorge on the national map.