HASSO HERING

A perspective from Oregon’s mid-Willamette Valley

Parking lot hole, a mystery no more

Written January 12th, 2022 by Hasso Hering

The mysterious hole that opened up in this parking lot off Water Avenue has been filled, and its origin explained.

Drivers parking their cars in the city of Albany-owned lot behind 201 First Avenue W. noticed a hole in the pavement. Then the hole got bigger. What could it be?

Last Friday, Teri Plagmann, whose law office is in the building, sent me a photo. By the time I was able to take a look myself, on Wednesday, the hole had been filled but the city’s barricades were still there.

So what was this mysterious thing that looked like some kind of sink hole, and what had caused it?

It’s in a city lot with leased spaces, so for the answer I turned to Albany Public Works Director Chris Bailey and Staci Belcastro, the city engineer. And they promptly supplied it.

“We excavated the hole and found the remnants of what we think was an old underground cistern,” Bailey emailed me.

Checking old Sanborn fire maps, the city staff found notations for cisterns at intersections of many downtown streets. Bailey surmises they were there to store water for firefighting but says “there may be folks who know more about that than we do.”

This cistern had been covered by a thin steel plate and paved over, no one knows when. Eventually the site became a parking lot, and the cistern — Belcastro says it was 6 feet deep — was forgotten.

Until, that is, the plate rusted through and the covering layer of rock and asphalt collapsed.

The city has now filled the hole with concrete and repaired the surface.

The hole, Bailey added, had not been connected to the city’s storm water system or the Willamette River.

I didn’t hear of anyone or anything falling into this hole when it opened up. But who knows, maybe there are others like it around the old part of town. Watch where you go. (hh)

Teri Plagmann, whose law office is nearby, supplied this photo last week.





5 responses to “Parking lot hole, a mystery no more”

  1. CHEZZ says:

    So, where are the vehicles from Space 16 and 17? Perhaps they are being prorated for their parking spots! Hasso, glad to see you aboard!!!

  2. Bob Woods says:

    Holy Kevin Bacon, Mr. Newsman!
    You sure it’s not “Tremors”?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liJfZvXdiTE

    • Sharon Konopa says:

      That’s a good one, Bob! Tremors came to my mind also!

      • Bob Woods says:

        Sometimes stupid movies are a lot of fun.

        Only been to one movie since COVID slammed us, and I miss sitting in the theatre. Thank God I can afford the streaming services..

  3. centrist says:

    50 odd years of engineering puzzles. What’s buried is thinly described
    Good catch

 

 
HH Today: A perspective from Oregon’s mid-Willamette Valley
Albany Albany City Council Albany council Albany downtown Albany Fire Department Albany housing Albany parks Albany Planning Commission Albany police Albany Post Office Albany Public Works Albany riverfront Albany schools Albany Station Albany streets Albany traffic Albany urban renewal apartments ARA Benton County bicycling bike lanes Bowman Park Bryant Park Calapooia River CARA climate change COVID-19 Cox Creek Cox Creek path Crocker Lane cumberland church cycling Dave Clark Path DEQ downtown Albany Edgewater Village Highway 20 homeless housing Interstate 5 land use Linn County Millersburg Monteith Riverpark North Albany ODOT Oregon coast Oregon legislature Pacific Power Portland & Western Queen Avenue Republic Services Riverside Drive Santiam Canal Scott Lepman Talking Water Gardens The Banks Tom Cordier Union Pacific urban renewal Water Avenue Waterfront Project Waverly Lake Willamette River


Copyright 2022. All Rights Reserved. Hasso Hering.
Website Serviced by Santiam Communications
Hasso Hering