Rain showers early becoming a steady light rain for the afternoon. High 54F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%..
Steady light rain this evening. Showers continuing overnight. Low 47F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Buoy Beer's building still displays an old sign from a fish processing plant.
The Buoy Beer logo adorns the exterior of the waterfront brewery.
A crane moves a piece of brewing equipment into Buoy Beer last summer.
A brewery worker monitors a batch of beer at Buoy Beer.
Buoy Beer brews and cans its beer in its waterfront warehouse.
Fort George Brewery co-founder Chris Nemlowill walks outside the brewery’s new brewery and canning facility on the Astoria waterfront.
Fresh cans of Fort George's City of Dreams pale ale travel down the line to be packaged.
Fort George Brewery's new facility on the waterfront.
The Bowline Hotel lobby hosts The Knot, a bar and restaurant serving coffee, meals and alcoholic beverages.
The hotel's decor is subtle and rustic, put together for a luxurious feel.
The Bowline is located on the Columbia River, with riverfront views from the lobby and many of the rooms.
The Bowline is next to Buoy Beer on the Astoria Riverwalk.
Buoy Beer's building still displays an old sign from a fish processing plant.
As the years flowed by, the Astoria waterfront has seen businesses rise and fall. While time brought changes, enterprises on the iconic strip tried to hold on to the past.
Its most recent developments are no exception, with renovations and construction incorporating retired cannery beams and industrial style. Buoy Beer Co. and Fort George Brewery have both expanded in old waterfront buildings, and the Bowline Hotel has reimagined a former seafood processing plant into a luxurious place to stay.
The Buoy Beer logo adorns the exterior of the waterfront brewery.
Business owners and the city have focused on the balance between authenticity and keeping up with the demands of the 21st century.
“The Riverwalk was built as something that locals would be able to use as well as visitors,” said City Manager Brett Estes. He said the waterfront should hold on to its sense of place.
“That things don’t have a carnival feel, that the authenticity of Astoria remains in places, is key and very important to the city,” Estes said.
A brewery worker monitors a batch of beer at Buoy Beer.
Buoy Beer’s recent expansions aim to further its reputation as a waterfront destination.
Its dock between 7th and 8th streets had previously been a Bornstein Seafoods fish processing plant that sat vacant for nearly a decade until Buoy’s founding in 2013.
“Before we had this building it was an abandoned building,” said Jessyka Dart-McLean, the brewery’s marketing manager. “The idea of bringing manufacturing back to the waterfront, of keeping in that history, has been a fluidity that we really enjoy.”
That building served as Buoy Beer’s production center until last fall. Since then, the company has expanded across the trolley tracks into the former Video Horizons space. “We started looking for, ‘what do we do next time to brew more beer?’ and we talked about it a lot. And then at the beginning of the pandemic we needed some extra space to have beer drinkers,” Dart-McLean said.
A crane moves a piece of brewing equipment into Buoy Beer last summer.
When Video Horizons moved out, Buoy added in a beer garden. Then they brought some serious equipment. The new facility connects to the original with piping that moves beer overhead across the Riverwalk. Outside its doors, tanks process wastewater and the coolant glycol. Inside, the smell of hops slams the senses. Two-story tall kegs tower above, reachable through a network of metal catwalks that vibrate slightly from the drone of machinery. A brewer stands above to monitor the temperament of the batch using a computer screen.
The expansion has allowed Buoy to increase its keg capacity. Co-founder Dave Kroening said new equipment will also allow them to refine their process with greater control. “Obviously when you expand you’re gonna be making more, but the other piece is the quality of the equipment and that the team works well together,” Kroening said. “I think the beer, which has always been great, is only going to get better now.”
Buoy Beer brews and cans its beer in its waterfront warehouse.
Last summer, Buoy Beer closed its main kitchen because of issues with pilings beneath it. The brewery has since offered a limited food menu.
Next door, construction has continued on the company’s Pilot House Distilling expansion. Plans for the two-story distillery include a restaurant and tasting room.
Fort George Brewery co-founder Chris Nemlowill walks outside the brewery’s new brewery and canning facility on the Astoria waterfront.
Keeping the feeling and function of a working waterfront is complex.
Megan Leatherman, Astoria’s community development director, said the city’s unique needs keep her job interesting. “I think the challenges of it are interesting to me,” Leatherman said. “There’s the historic aspects of all of the buildings being pretty much 100 years old and the repurposing of some of the spaces is also really interesting to me.”
Fresh cans of Fort George's City of Dreams pale ale travel down the line to be packaged.
Along Marine Drive, a warehouse which once canned salmon has been transformed into Fort George Brewery’s center of production. Today, shiny new equipment fills cans of beer. “It’s a pretty cool spot,” said Chris Nemlowill, Fort George’s co-founder. “It’s got incredible history, the spot where we’re at down the waterfront.”
The brewery’s move greatly expanded Fort George’s keg capacity, with room to install additional kegs, tanks and fermenters.
Fort George Brewery's new facility on the waterfront.
Nemlowill said he’s excited to be a part of the changes along the river. “It’s great because I grew up in Astoria,” Nemlowill said. “Astoria was very based in seafood and wood products, and to get another leg under the table for the community I think is really good. I think the fermentation sector is a great future for the area.”
The Bowline Hotel lobby hosts The Knot, a bar and restaurant serving coffee, meals and alcoholic beverages.
The waterfront changes aren’t limited to the beer and spirits sectors, though.
The Bowline Hotel moved in next door to Buoy Beer after two years of renovations to a former seafood processing plant.
Owners of the Bowline sought to bring a new life to the building while paying homage to its history, said Tiffany Turner, CEO of Adrift Hospitality. “This was the first time we’ve taken anything that wasn’t a hotel and turned it into a hotel. So it was a much different project, and then you add in the complications of building over the water and everything that provides,” Turner said. “I think it was a big challenge for everyone. Our builder, ourselves, the city of Astoria did their best through a global pandemic.”
The hotel's decor is subtle and rustic, put together for a luxurious feel.
While reconstructing the space, they wanted to juxtapose historical elements with modern luxury. That aesthetic carries through to exposed wooden beams from the original structure above a chic cocktail bar. Tungsten-style bulbs glow orange against cement floors. Fireplaces create a cozy atmosphere in the hotel’s rooms. Photos at the Bowline provided by the Clatsop County Historical Society showcase the old working waterfront and the workers who ran it.
Turner grew up in Long Beach, Washington, and said she hopes the hotel becomes a space where the community feels welcome and will be proud of its past. “It seems like the community’s really wrestling with how to responsibly and authentically grow, and I think that’s appropriate,” Turner said. “Making sure that we’re paying attention to the lasting impact of what we create. And I think that it’s a hard line to walk. I think Astoria, both as a community and as a municipality, are really taking that responsibility pretty seriously. And that’s good.”
The Bowline is located on the Columbia River, with riverfront views from the lobby and many of the rooms.
Other sections of the waterfront are also being eyed for revitalization. The city and Port of Astoria have been working on a development plan along the river in Uniontown. New restaurants and businesses have moved in along the waterfront stretching down to Pier 39.
The city expects a brighter Riverwalk later this year. New lighting will be installed between Uniontown and the historic downtown area and further down toward 39th Street. New signage and maps are also expected. The city plans to improve accessibility alongside the Riverwalk’s trolley tracks, and will build a Portland Loo-style restroom at the Astoria Nordic Heritage Park.
The Bowline is next to Buoy Beer on the Astoria Riverwalk.
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