The Astoria Column is 125 feet tall and is covered on the outside by a scraffitto frieze that depicts figures from the history of Astoria and the Columbia River.

One of the most memorable things that I learned at Fort Stevens was about Disappearing Cannons. Disappearing Cannons are 6.14 inches across. What makes them special, though, is that they can pop up over a wall of the fort, fire, and then go back down, which is how they got their name. This function makes it very safe for people to work around them. It only takes five seconds to raise up the cannon, and then 1 second to lower it down, so it happens very fast. The crew to load and clean the cannon consists of 6 men. The cannonball and two silk sacs of gun powder are wheeled over to the cannon and loaded. After the cannon fires, the crew takes a sponge and wipes down the barrel to get rid of sparks. That’s what I’ve learned about Disappearing Cannons at Fort Stevens!

I think that tourist activities are important to small towns because they help get the town publicity, and they bring more people to the town to help with the economy.