According to the Astoria-Warrenton Chamber of Commerce website (2007):

"... Patterned after the Trajan Column in Rome, the Astoria Column is the world's only large piece of memorial architecture made of reinforced concrete with a pictorial frieze in sgraffito technique. The column artwork illustrates the discovery of the Columbia River by Captain Robert Gray in 1792, the establishment of American claims to the Northwest Territory, the winning of the west and the arrival of the Great Northern Railway. ..."

The 100-foot-tall Trajan Column (see "Trajan Column" below) was erected in Rome around 114 A.D. by Emperor Trajan, and is made of marble. It is covered by a continuous low-relief sculpture depicting Trajan's Dacian campaigns. "Sgraffito technique" is a bas-relief etching in cement.

By 1995, after nearly 70 years of exposure to Pacific Coast weather and salt air, many of the pictures on the column had deteriorated and some were nearly impossible to see. The "Friends of the Astoria Column" and the community of Astoria got together to restore the landmark. Internationally renowned experts spent six months cleaning, reconstructing and restoring the images to their original luster. The restored structure was unveiled in November 1997.

The Astoria Column was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 (Structure #74001681).

1. Before the White Man Came
2. Robert Gray in the Ship Columbia in the Great River of the West, May 11, 1792
3. Gray finds an Indian Village on the Bank of the River
4. Lt. Broughton Names Mt. Hood, Oct. 1792
5. The Lewis and Clark Expedition Crossing the Mountains
6. Indians Greet the Explorers
7. Lewis and Clark Reach the Pacific
8. They Obtain Salt by Boiling Sea Water
9. Fort Clatsop Established December 1805
10. Fort Clatsop is Completed
11. Indian Fishing and Boat Building Industry
12. Astor Overland Party Leaving St. Louis
13. Tonquin Sails from New York September 8, 1810
14. Tonquin Arrives at Mouth of Columbia Spring 1811
15. Overlanders Cross the Divide Led by Wilson Price Hunt
16. Destruction of the Tonquin, Summer of 1811
17. First Overland Astorians Arrive
18. Arrival of Astoria to the Northwest Company, Oct. 1813
19. U.S. Ship Ontairio Flying American Flag, 1818
20. Coming of the Pioneers - 1837-1848
21. The Railway Arrives 1893

The "State of Oregon, 1859" is depicted in the final scene at the top.

• Trajan Column, Rome, Italy ...

"... Trajan's Column was erected 106-113 C.E. in Trajan's Forum in Rome to commemorate his victories over Dacia. The 100 foot tall column is made of marble quarried near Cararra and is covered by a continuous low-relief sculpture depicting Trajan's Dacian campaigns. The column and capital were constructed from 20 separate blocks of marble and the column contains a spiral stair leading to an observation platform at the top. The pedestal supporting the column is about 25 feet tall and served as Trajan's tomb after his death in 117. Originally the column was topped by a bronze eagle, but that was replaced by a statue of Trajan after his death. The statue of Trajan, now lost, was replaced by a statue of Saint Peter in 1588. The inscription over the door in the pedestal has long been regarded as one of the finest examples of Roman letter forms and has been the basis for many type faces. ..."