The Oregon Coast has a special history of art deco style due to the six major bridges built by Conde B. McCullough in the late 1930s.  These bridges did more than connect the coast highway and open the door to modern transportation, they left a unique artistic legacy on the coast. 

Built in the modern style of the 1920 & 30’s now known as 'art deco,' the graceful steel arches and sculpted concrete geometric pylons of McCullough’s bridge designs symbolized progress and hope for the future.

As the new highway-oriented culture took root, the modern progressive design of the bridges influenced new construction nearby. When the the Yaquina Bay Bridge opened for traffic on Labor Day in 1936, it was the final link in the highway. The new automobile age reoriented Newport’s City Center business district and resulted in a distinct pocket of art deco style, one with its own unique history and culture. 

Today, the bridge is Newport’s most recognizable icon and provides the inspiration for Newport’s City Center Deco District. To honor the district’s unique history and provide a focus for revitalization efforts, the Newport City Council approved designation of the area as an “Art Deco Heritage District” in March 2007.

The proposal for the district was made by the City Center Newport Association, a non-profit corporation whose mission includes educational and cultural guidance on preserving, restoring and/or upgrading the district’s properties to be sensitive to their deco heritage. With help from the City of Newport and widespread support from the community, the many dedicated volunteers of the CCNA are working to make Newport’s City Center a place people will want to go TO, not just through.

Photos courtesy Lincoln County Historical Society and The Ark

The City Center Newport Assn. is registered with the Oregon Cultural Trust as a cultural non profit organization.

You can help support CCNA's mission of revitalizing Newport's unique Art Deco heritage by becoming a member today.