We often take for granted what we see. But behind every new thing in a city or town lies a story that many of us have forgotten. That is especially so in Astoria, which has enjoyed three decades of upward trajectory.

The decade that is ending has been especially transformative. We have attempted to capture several elements of this big change.

All cities and towns are in a constant cycle of deterioration, death and renewal. Two projects especially marked the beginning of Astoria’s rebirth. One was the cleanup of Astoria Plywood in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The second was the acquisition and restoration of the Liberty Theatre in the early 2000s.

What marks the years from 2010 onward has been an acceleration of Astoria’s renewal.

It has been a remarkable 10 years, marked by progress in many facets. We suspect some readers will grumble at the “pretty” part in our “Gritty to pretty” headline, arguing that Astoria has always had working-folks’ blood surging through its veins.

We couldn’t agree more. Our enhanced appearance should not imply softness or weakness.

“We ain’t quaint” was a reactionary bumper sticker from a couple of decades ago when fears of gentrification launched a concerted pushback from people eager to make sure Astoria didn’t get too soft. Sure, the notorious downtown dives were cleared away to make a safer place for redevelopment. But we believe “grit” still exists in the people and institutions that call this place home.

Bicentennial

Astoria celebrated its bicentennial in 2011. This event was a major cause for reflection. As we looked back, we took pride in an astonishing melting pot of nationalities, ethnicities and faiths that literally built our town, populated it and created its folklore.

Although it was no longer the salmon canning capital of the world, the oldest American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains truly had cause to celebrate that terrific milestone. Residents examined the survival of its two traditional industries, logging and fishing — albeit in curtailed form — and the emergence of tourism as the third key piece in the economic jigsaw.

We recognized the stability of the Georgia-Pacific Wauna Mill, the expansion of the U.S. Coast Guard presence through Sector Columbia River and the burgeoning health field. The latter has grown even more significantly in the last decade as Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria and Providence Seaside Hospital have added enhanced capabilities to serve North Coast patients. One key factor in this growth has been partnerships with other medical professionals, most notably Columbia Memorial’s alliance with Oregon Health & Science University.

Warrenton saw considerable expansion, doubling in population between 2000 and 2010, and adding even more in the past decade. But growth in Astoria is limited by geography. Available housing for newcomers has always been an issue, not just in the modern era. The 2020 census is likely to reflect stability in the total number of its inhabitants, who numbered just short of 10,000 in the official count 10 years ago and the same in a recently released Portland State University study.

Some years ago, leaders at Astor Elementary School used to say 1 in 5 of their student population changed each year. If that rough guideline is mirrored citywide, it means there are a host of new people who call this wonderful place home.

We know that’s true because we’ve featured them in our pages: Innovating, investing and celebrating their arrival with enthusiasm for living in such a storied and attractive locale. And many stay — if they can earn the means to live here and learn to endure the weather, of course.

Some good things come and go. Others endure. We are not alone in believing that the investment in the renovation of the Liberty Theatre and the Elliott Hotel, especially during the early 2000s, sparked the wonderful renaissance of downtown that has continued through this past decade.

Nowadays, when familiar storefronts become empty, they are filled with new ventures that further diversify what’s available. Sometimes that process takes a while and some developers are controversial. But an enhanced arts scene and the proliferation of craft breweries has flavored the community. Thankfully, key obstacles, like the absentee ownership of the Flavel family which stymied progress for too many years, have been removed. When cruise ship visitors throng our streets in shoulder seasons, they have many delights to sample that we residents savor year-round.

Another cloud on the horizon 10 years ago, the various proposed liquefied natural gas projects, have gone away, for now. We were among many who had hoped that the unity of purpose that brought so many different people together to battle that potential disaster could be harnessed for a common purpose — and this time, a positive one.

It is fanciful to suggest it did, because much of that remarkable energy dissipated once the last carpetbagger left town. The closest manifestation of this spirit has been the vigor of the debate over the future of our working waterfront amid the desire of residents to preserve their views of the Columbia River.

Will Astoria ever reach consensus on what it wants to be? Perhaps that is an unanswerable question, because change is the only constant.

Whatever the answer, we believe it all adds up to a pretty picture of a community that can shine brightly with innovations while preserving those qualities and attributes that makes it such a great place to live.

Housing

Readers answering our survey about changes in the past 10 years and challenges looming in the immediate future mentioned improving parking downtown and revisiting the old concept of a bypass to alleviate traffic congestion.

But more than anything they were almost unanimous that affordable housing was the biggest issue facing Astoria. This should extend the debate over how to humanely tackle homelessness into a broader discussion. The elephant in the room, of course, is that wages for tourism and service jobs, and the health assistant positions being created, are rarely high enough to afford quality housing. Policymakers need to create an environment to encourage more private investors to meet this crucial need.

It is a challenge we will be monitoring, beginning in 2020.