Sometimes called “Columbia River Beach” or “Vancouver Park” in its early days, this was one of the first attempts at an amusement park and beach resort in Portland. It was located on the north shore of Sand Island (later Tomahawk Island), just east of Hayden Island in the Columbia River. The park first opened on August 16, 1903, and initially seemed to be quite successful.
However, mentions of the park cease after the 1906 season and it seems to have been quite forgotten, as articles in 1916 announcing a new lease on the property talk about it as if it was brand new and totally undiscovered – “the first time in Portland’s history that a regular bathing beach will be available right at the doors of the city.” This version of the park was backed by the Portland Railway, Light & Power Company as a way to attract weekend and holiday riders to ride the Vancouver line, especially because a second fare could be added to each ride as the beach park was outside city limits.
A fire destroyed the park’s dance pavilion on the morning of April 16, 1926, but a new floating pavilion was installed and ready for use by the start of the 1926 season in early June.
The park abruptly closed after the 1927 season when the Columbia Beach Amusement Company was bought out by the Hayden Island Amusement Company and their attention switched to the new Jantzen Beach property on Hayden Island. Newspaper articles report good crowds right up to the end, with large rodeos being held through September 1927.
In 1930, the “Old Columbia Beach” site became the short-lived and ill-fated Lotus Isle amusement park.
See also: Lotus Isle (1930–1932); Jantzen Beach Park (1928–1970)