Photo: Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Bay Boulevard in Newport is one of the few places on the West Coast where a working fishing harbor and a busy tourist strip share the same street. Fish processing plants and docks sit beside chowder houses, galleries and gift shops.
Two economies, one street
On a summer afternoon, delivery trucks back into processing plants while visitors walk the sidewalks and watch the sea lions on the docks. The arrangement works most of the time, though parking, traffic and space for fishing businesses are constant topics at city meetings.
The sea lion draw
California sea lions haul out on floating docks off the Bayfront, and their barking is part of the street’s soundtrack. They are one of the town’s most reliable free attractions, especially in fall and winter.
Keeping the harbor working
Many waterfront towns have watched fishing businesses give way to condos and shops. Newport’s Bayfront still has its plants and boats, and local leaders have generally treated the working waterfront as something worth protecting.
Dewey Albrecht covers the Port of Newport, commercial and sport fishing and the Yaquina Bay bar.
