Who We Are
Formed in 1986, the Astoria Downtown Historic District Association (ADHDA) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve and advance historic downtown Astoria’s culture and character through inspired partnerships and community engagement to support a vibrant and resilient economic future for all Astorians.
ADHDA is a Nationally Accredited, Performing Main Street Community, as recognized by the National Main Street and Oregon Main Street Programs. With a dedicated 12-member board and 4 hard working committees, ADHDA implements the 4-Point Main Street Approach throughout the downtown district, which is primarily comprised of 38 blocks: from 5th to 17th Streets to the west and east and from Exchange Street to the Columbia River to the south and the north.
- Astoria Sunday Market which brings in over 1 million dollars in sales into our community every year and includes:
- Over 150 vendors selling handmade and locally produced arts and crafts, produce, food and more
- Cruise Ship Markets
- Farm/Food Incubator Booth
- SNAP + Double Up Food Bucks
- Live Music
- Biz Kidz, a booth for youth in collaboration with Clatsop County 4-H
- Second Saturday Artwalk which includes over 30 galleries/Artwalk destinations
- Downtown Shopping, Arts and Culture, and Dining Maps
- Downtown Parking by contracting with the city and overseeing the Community Outreach Officer position
- Downtown Block Captains
We have secured hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant funding for historic preservation, affordable housing and building façade restoration. Examples of some projects include:
- Riviera Building at 11th and Marine (Columbian Theater)
- Merwyn Apartments/Waldorf Hotel at 1067 Duane St
- Odd Fellows Building at 10th and Commercial
- JC Penney Building at 1343 Commercial (now Astoria Vintage Hardware)
- The Liberty Theater Building Complex at 12th and Commercial/Duane
Merwyn Apartments (before/after) won an Oregon Main Street Excellence on Main Award for Outstanding Downtown Housing
- The State Historic Preservation Office
- Clatsop Community College’s Historic Preservation Program
- The Lower Columbia Preservation Society
- The City of Astoria
- Other Main Street Organizations
- Pacific Power
- Travel Oregon
- The Astoria-Warrenton Chamber of Commerce
- Local businesses, organizations, schools and community members
- Managing downtown landscaping and planters
- Facilitating downtown cleanup days and Love Your Streets
- Implementing the Sidewalk Blocks Program which assists property owners in replacing the historic purple glass tiles by providing labor and covering half of the material cost
- Promoting local events through the Downtown Banner Program
- Commissioning mural work by local artists such as the 13th Street Alley Mural by artist Andee Sterling
- Securing grants for façade and historic preservation work on downtown buildings
- Holiday events such as the downtown lighting, Shop Plaid, Winter Window Display Contest and Santa at the Liberty
- Downtown Halloween Witches and Trick-or-Treating
- Jane Barnes Revue
- AstoriUs Day
- Coast Guard Welcome Kits
- Pacific Northwest Brew Cup
- Annual Ball at the Liberty Theater
Interested in downloading a copy of the 2012 ‘Building Blocks’ study created by Michelle Reeves? You can find that here.
We believe Astoria is an extraordinary place to live and visit and we couldn’t do all of this without your support.
Please consider becoming an ADHDA volunteer or member today!
