It’s been a long wait, but visitors to the Astoria Column will soon be able to climb to the balcony of the 125-foot tall landmark again and take in the panoramic view.

Within the next few days, a crew from Columbia Wire & Iron Works in Portland, will finish installing a new spiral staircase inside the Column. Fabricated from galvanized cast steel, it replaces the old staircase made of cast iron, which had to be closed to the public after developing dangerous cracks in November 2007.

“It’s been too long with the front door closed and locked,” said Astoria Mayor Willis Van Dusen. “It’s been like putting on a party but your friends can’t come inside.

“I’m very happy with the new steps,” Van Dusen said. “The project isn’t over yet, but things have gone extremely well.”

“I’m excited about the project,” agreed Astoria City Councilor Russ Warr. “In another few days we’ll be ready to put the top back on and open it to the public.” The top, an irreplaceable glass cupola made in Germany, had to be removed temporarily. It will be carefully replaced when the project is finished, possibly within the next few days.

Van Dusen and Warr expect the door to the Column will open to visitors by the end of this week. A grand opening is planned for Aug. 15 after the Astoria Regatta’s Grand Land Parade.

Pieced together

Easing the new stairs into the interior of the cylindrical Column Monday was a 170-ton, 175-foot tall hydraulic crane. The new stairs arrived in six sections, each trucked to Astoria separately from Portland, then gingerly maneuvered into the circular opening at the top of the Column by the crane operator. A 10-person crew from Columbia Wire & Iron Works, consisting of members of Columbia Ironworkers Local 29 and CWI managers, bolted the sections together, with landings shaped like half-circles in between. “A corkscrew and two pieces of pie,” is the way Mike Cosgrove, of CWI, described the staircase and landings.

It was a beautiful day and Cosgrove was enjoying the Column job. He said the company generally puts up buildings and warehouses and does retrofits. “Every once in a blue moon we get to do a Column job,” Cosgrove said. “I’d rather do this than a downtown high-rise. There’s great scenery, fresh air and no parking issues.”

The same hydraulic crane that handled the new stairs Monday had lifted the old stairs out last week during a demolition phase that took three days. They were torn out in six or seven pieces, then cut into 10-foot sections and hauled to the city’s public works yard. The Astoria City Council may decide to auction them later as a fundraiser, said Kevin Beck, director of the Astoria Parks and Community Services Department.

Friends adding money

It cost $27,133 to build the Astoria Column, which opened in July 1926. The staircase replacement project is expected to cost $585,165, with the nonprofit group Friends of the Astoria Column donating $200,000. The Friends group spent an additional $1.75 million on improvements to the Column that were completed in 2004. The Friends also provide a gift shop at the Column. The shop’s revenues have provided $125,000 toward maintaining the Column and the area around it over the last five years.

The remaining $385,165 for the staircase replacement project is from the Promote Astoria Fund, which comes from hotel room taxes. It’s an appropriate funding source: In addition to the Column’s prominent place in the hearts of local residents, it attracts visitors from all over the U.S. and from foreign countries.

The Friends group estimates 20 million to 30 million people have visited the Column since it opened and about 60 percent of them have climbed the 164 steps to see the 360-degree view of Youngs Bay, the Columbia River and the forests.

Checking things out

A steady stream of visitors arrived at the Column Monday to enjoy the scenery, and even though a detour was in place and parking was limited because of the construction work, everyone found a place to park. But some were disappointed that the 164-step staircase to the top of the Column was still closed. Michael Carruthers, 47, of Astoria, said he’s glad the long wait for the stairs to reopen is nearing its end. “It’s about time,” said Carruthers, who had brought his four-year old son, William, with him. “This is our landmark. I’ve been up it many times as a kid,” Carruthers said. “But William’s never been up it.”

Stephen Levin, 45, had climbed the Column five years ago while he was living in Portland for a short time. Now living in Florida, he was so impressed by the Column that he brought his fiancée to see it Monday on a trip to the North Coast. “I wish I could have seen it better,” he said.

“I’ve never seen it before,” said Bud Englebretson, of Oklahoma City, Okla., who had spent some time at Rilea Armed Forces Training Center in the mid-1980s but hadn’t gotten to Astoria back then to see the Column. “I wish I’d been here later so I could climb to the top,” Englebretson said.

Good for photos

Paula Bue, who manages the Column gift shop, said about 75 percent of visitors are “quite disappointed” about the stairs still being closed, especially if they visited the Column last year. But the project will soon be finished, she said, and on the bright side, the new gift shop has a lot more room than the old one, there are many more items for visitors to choose from and the building is wheelchair accessible.

Unfazed by the unfinished staircase project were Long Beach, Wash., resident Ted Diebold, a photography buff, and Jan Landy, of Philadelphia, who was visiting Oregon with her “favorite aunt,” Ann Wilcox, of Woodland, Calif. Diebold was at the Column taking pictures of the river with his Canon SLR camera, . “The Columbia River has such interesting characteristics that change with the tides,” he said. “It’s different every day.” Diebold is so fond of the Column and visits so often that he has purchased a yearly pass.

Landy marveled at the view from the Column park. “What a beautiful state you have here. So many vistas and so lush,” said Landy, who had never been to Oregon before. Her aunt has visited the Column often.

“I’ve been here many times,” Wilcox said, “and I’m enjoying it just as much.”