You can sense it in the air, in the town, in the landscape and in the people history is alive in all of the disparate parts that make up todays Astoria, reads the introduction to Donna Quinns piece, The City and Today, in the official commemorative program of the Astoria Bicentennial.

History certainly is alive and well in Astoria, thanks to the efforts of citizens, businesses and organizations that strive to recognize and promote Astorias roots. Ive almost reached my six-month anniversary in town, yet I?am still constantly bumping into facets of Astorias past and that are new to me.

I recently had the chance to attend a talk by Mac Burns, executive director of the Clatsop County Historical Society, at the Cannery Pier Hotel. Seated near a giant Christmas tree, I listened as he recounted the founding of Astoria. You might know the story: John Jacob Astor, Fort Astoria and the fur trade the dot-com of the time, as Burns put it. Though Id heard the story before, Burns described personality quirks and the national state of mind human elements that brought history to life.

After the talk, Quinn, director of sales and marketing of the Cannery Pier Hotel, took me on a tour of the facilities. It was my first time in the bright red building, and while I couldnt help but note the fireplaces in every room and the authentic Finnish sauna, what stood out the most to me was the art on the walls.

No generic, boring prints here: The Cannery Pier Hotel boasts prints of cannery workers and packers; fishermen, gillnetters and seiners; vintage canning labels; elaborate, colorful checks from the early 1900s and remarkable, eye-catching paintings by Northwest artist Sarah Goodnough. Goodnoughs colorful salmon swim over canvases, and boats sail beneath the awesome presence of the Astoria Bridge.

All of it speaks to the history and location of the place. The bridge looms close above the hotel; I caught my breath a couple times at the view. And the hotel resides in the same spot where the Union Fishermans Cooperative Packing Company stood from 1897 to the 1940s.

As Astoria evolves over time, it retains its unique character and powerful sense of place, offering deep connections to what is real and authentic, reads another part of Quinns essay.

I couldnt agree more.