When Larry Kirkland designed the Grant Street Pier, he hoped it would mirror a sailboat passing along the Columbia River.
That resemblance is coming together this week after the arrival of a white, steel mast rising near the base of the pier. When the pier opens next summer, the 75-foot beam will keep it aloft over the river with galvanized steel cables.
Temporary cables can already be seen linked into the mast, but those will be replaced by permanent cables in December, city officials said Wednesday. After that, wood pilings underneath the pier will come out.
“We’re super excited that we have the mast up. It’s really going to be a visual highlight of the park, and to get that major milestone behind us is terrific,” said Julie Hannon, the city’s Parks & Recreation director.
The city’s prime contractor for the project, Vancouver construction firm Rotschy Inc., installed the beam on Monday. It angles toward the river, putting its highest point about 70 feet off the ground.
When completed, the pier will be the centerpiece for a new facet of Vancouver. It will be flanked by the city’s new 7.3-acre park and be the figurehead of the 32-acre waterfront redevelopment that turns the former site of the Boise Cascade paper mill into office buildings, restaurants and a hotel.
Besides Kirkland’s designs, the pier will be highlighted with illumination created by industrial light designer Charles Stone. His works have been used to light the Washington Monument in Washington D.C., as well as the “Tribute in Light” beams at the former World Trade Center buildings in New York City.
The mast has local origins, too. In addition to its being owned by the city of Vancouver and constructed by Rotschy, the 59,000-pound mast was fabricated upriver by local manufacturer Thompson Metal Fab.
