Oregon City's Weird Municipal Elevator Explained

Oregon City's Forgotten Municipal Elevator, a hidden gem in the heart of the city, stands as a testament to the bygone era of industrial innovation. Tucked away from the bustling streets, this historic elevator once played a crucial role in connecting the upper and lower sections of Oregon City. Constructed in the early 20th century, the elevator was an engineering marvel, offering a convenient means for residents to traverse the steep cliffs that define the city's topography. Over time, as transportation methods evolved and the need for such a distinctive elevator diminished, it fell into obscurity. Despite its forgotten status, the Municipal Elevator stands as a silent witness to Oregon City's rich history and serves as a reminder of the ingenuity that shaped the cityscape in days gone by.

IT’S HISTORY - Weekly Tales of American Urban Decay as presented by your host Ryan Socash.

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Scriptwriter - Dillan Aultimate
Editor - Karolina Szwata,
Host - Ryan Socash
Music/Sound Design: Dave Daddario

» NOTICE
Some images may be used for illustrative purposes only - always reflecting the accurate time frame and content. Events of factual error / mispronounced word/spelling mistakes - retractions will be published in this section.

[BrentGeorgeson]

I live in and grew up in Oregon City. So much great history here. Thank you for helping to share that great history.

[kevinjbonn]

Imagine my surprise when seeing you had a new episode, and it's an episode about the 2nd most interesting thing I can see out my window (#1 being Mt Hood)! I love the elevator!

[jamesallred]

I live about ten minutes away from this elevator. It's still useful and operational today

[cgimovieman]

I was born in Oregon not far from here, although I didn’t grow up there. I’ve seen a few videos of this, and they’ve fascinated me. It doesn’t seem like there’s very much to it, but it’s just something that you don’t see every day.

[S.E.C-R]

I’ve lived here my whole life and have only been in it once, many years ago. I was really surprised to see you did a video about it. I don’t remember ever seeing what it looked like when it opened. I thought it always looked like that!

[Diego.Ambrosini]

The oldest public elevator in the world is the Lacerda Elevator, built in the city of Salvador, Brazil, in 1873. It was hydraulic at first, but changed to operate with electricity in 1906. It is 236 feet high, and transports an average of 33, 000 people daily.

[-bitMicro]

This is quite a similar story to The Durie Hill Elevator which is a public elevator in Whanganui, on the North Island of New Zealand. It connects Anzac Parade beside the Whanganui River with the suburb of Durie Hill. It is ranked by Heritage New Zealand as a Category 1 Historic Place, and is New Zealand's only public underground elevator. Construction began in 1916 and was opened in August 1919, it is still in operation and daily use to this day, the elevator is electric.

[thomasboes]

Back in 2012, I had an office on top of the bluff above Blue Heron, steps from this elevator. It was a fabulous amenity that easily connected two wonderful levels of Oregon City, and offered an amazing view of the second largest waterfall in the US. The Staff that serve it are always kind and informative.

[jangles]

That's really cool! Thanks for bringing us this Ryan! 💙🙏🏼

[davidh]

Thank you SO much for awakening a very long forgotten memory. Originally from Long Island, New York, my family spent two summers in Portland, 1959 and 1961, while my father attended a National Science Foundation project. A high school teacher, he was a student during the '59 session and was later invited to teach in the program two years later at the then Portland State Teachers' College. Dr/Professor Remfer directed the program. We lived in suburban Milwaukee, and frequently went into Oregon City. To a 9 year old, that ultra futuristic spaceship was a dream to stare at. Mom never let us go into the thing, but I never forgot it. Until I did, and you brought back the memory. Funny, but I have no recollection of the river or the City itself. But I was there, a very long time ago. Thank you!

[kmoecub]

My beloved hometown. It's not just a municipal elevator, but the only vertical street in the world (yes it is legally a street).

[docternoblex]

I remember seeing this every day when I was growing up, I always wanted to see it, and I love it so much, I recently visited it and man, such a huge amount of memories

[JoshFam]

So much history in this city! Love the city. Thank you for the video!

[wilbur]

An amazing part of that elevator is it has had an operator most of its life. There was a point in time that I remember in the 90s where they did not have somebody employed to operate the elevator other than that as far as I know they've always had somebody to run the elevator for you.
If you choose not to take the elevator the stairs that go up the side is a great View and a nice place to sit down and relax and watch the creek and the waterfalls.

[chrisbullard]

Oregon City is an interesting town to visit. I remember taking a tour of the paper mill in high school. Sadly, a lot of the paper mills and industrial plants that offered decent wages and job security were eliminated through the 90s and 2000s, in favor of the classic “we’re reinventing the town as a service economy, where no one can afford a house and the only people working are from out of state!”

[n_v]

Got to visit last year, very cool - I bought the shirt lol

[JTA]

Well done...seem to be a pretty unbiased yet informative video...will have to check out some more. Thanks

[davegoldspink]

What an absolutely amazing story and a fascinating building. Thanks so much for sharing. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[tedbomba]

Thanks for a great story ! I had never known about this elevator, but it's always nice to learn something new and interesting and the story about how it came to be.

[jonallen]

I lived in the neighboring city of West Linn Oregon, and I’ve been inside that elevator once and it was pretty cool.