Astoria's 'Garden of Surging Waves' set to open after winding journey

Written by Lori Tobias / Published by The Oregonian
Plans for the park had been in the works for nearly five years when finally the key pieces arrived in Los Angeles from China. There they awaited shipment north. And waited. And waited some more.

No one knew why the marble columns intended for installation in the city’s proposed Garden of Surging Waves were stuck. That is, until Astoria Police Chief Pete Curzon reached out to a friend in the L.A.P.D.

Mystery solved.

As it turned out, one of the eight columns was broken, and the port of Los Angeles was refusing to ship them. It took more than four months, but eventually the hand-carved works of art arrived. With a replacement column on its way from China, it seemed that was where the saga of the damaged column would end. At least it would have had it been destined for anywhere else.

While the park is the latest point of Astoria pride, the Astoria Heritage Square remains a work in progress. Work is now underway to build an amphitheater next to it on a site that once held a grocery store. Engineers also made a discovery while working on the park, which will also be showcased in coming months.

“We were underneath the street and we discovered a room that was constructed in 1924 to run the traffic signals at the intersection of 12thand Duane Streets – all the gears, switches and levers,” said Van Dusen.  “It’s a combination of electrical and mechanical. It’s just in pristine condition. Our plan is to put a glass ceiling on that room so you can walk around Heritage Square and see it. You never know what you are going to find under the streets of Astoria.’”


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