December 10, 2022 through February 07, 2023

Sam Blair • Faces of Astoria

“There’s something special here, on the edge of the continent, where the Columbia meets the sea. An endless stream of books, plays, and movies have been written about this little town of 10,000. It’s the oldest town in America west of the Mississippi. There’s a unique energy field here. You feel it in your bones, or you don’t. Part of it is location, part is architecture, part is history, and a large part has always been the fascinating people who call it home.

Astoria has always attracted extraordinary people, beginning with its namesake, John Jacob Astor, dating back to 1811. Some have been eccentric, some ambitious, some adventurous, some fun loving, with some waterfront scallywags, too. More recently many are increasingly artistic.

If Astoria had a slogan, it would be “live and let live”. It’s a polite, caring, light hearted place, not full of itself, although it could be. Volunteerism thrives here. It’s the kind of place where you’ll seldom hear a car horn honk. “We don’t do that here” an Astorian might say, which says it all. ( Moaning fog horns from giant ships crossing the treacherous bar is a whole different story).

One writer said ‘to live in Astoria is to live on the top layer of an archeological dig.’ Another called Astoria’s continuing celebration of both life and history ‘a layer cake for the dead’.

This series of photographs attempts to capture all of that, featuring some of the fascinating people who help make this place all that it is.”

~ Sam Blair

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