Multnomah Lodge was built alongside the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Highway directly below Mist Falls in 1916. Multnomah Lodge was one of many roadhouses and inns that were built along the Scenic Highway in its first years.
All that remains of Multnomah Lodge today is the fireplace, part of the rock wall that you see in the foreground, and a section of concrete in the gutter that almost serves as a cornerstone. Five acres including the site of Multnomah Lodge were donated to the State of Oregon in 1971 by Rose M. Lenske, wife of colorful Portland attorney and businessman Reuben Lenske.
What the "1,000 ft" notation means is unknown. The elevation here is about 50 to 75 feet above sea level. Perhaps it refers to Wahkeena Falls and the site of Benson Park, which are about 1,000 feet to the east.
What we know today as Multnomah Falls Lodge was built in 1925 on a larger and grander scale about a half mile to the east at Multnomah Falls. Perhaps by that time the lodge shown on this page was gone, because the new lodge was called Multnomah Lodge at the Falls.
Ash Creek Images
Photographs of the West by Doug Gorsline
Multnomah Lodge at Mist Falls, 1916
