Longview Photo Gallery | What's going on in Longview on a random Friday?

Since KATU Communities recently added the city of Longview into our cadre of communities (we've got 30 of them!), I thought it would be a good idea to take the drive to the community and see what makes Longview tick.

I had researched Longview a little bit prior to making the drive up Friday morning. I think the most interesting thing was the Nutty Narrows Bridge, which was built in 1963 by Amos Peters. It has the distinction of being the lone bridge in the world that's built strictly for squirrels. It's fairly close to the Longview Library and Lower Columbia College (which I also hadn't previously realized was in Longview until reading up on the city). Anyway, there's also a giant sculpture of a squirrel nearby and a plaque that pays homage to Peters.

I made my way over to Lake Sacajawea. It was brisk and cold Friday morning, but what wasn't brisk were the people. I was making my way around the walking/jogging/biking trail around the lake (which is also adjacent to a large hospital) and just about everyone I passed gave me a friendly "hello" or "hi there." By my count, it was about 12 different people. That definitely gave me the impression that Longview is a friendly town that's actually pretty good sized (right around 37,000).

As I kept moving throughout the city, it's easy to see that Longview is proud of its heritage. It even had murals of city founder Robert A. Long, along with A.L. Gibbs, who served as mayor from 1924-1930, painted on the outside of some downtown historic parts of Longview on Commerce Street. There was also the bust of Robert A. Long that sits in a park in Civil Circle directly in front of the Monticello Hotel, which has giant red letters above the hotel spelling its name. It's like something you'd see out of an old movie. 

I'm sure there was a lot of stuff I wasn't able to get to (I'd love to find out more about Longview resident Arthur "Spud" Melin, who was the co-inventor of the hula hoop and co-founder of Wham-O), but it looks like I'll have to save that for another day.

If there's anything notable that happens in Longview, don't be afraid to send me an email and I'll put it here on the Longview KATU Communities page. Or I can also sign you up for an account so you can become a Longview Community Reporter, which allows you -- the Longview resident -- to tell others about what's going on in Longview.