Confluence Land Bridge

Dedicated August 2008 This place along the river has been a historic crossroads for native people, and later for Lewis and Clark, the Hudson’s Bay Company and now Fort Vancouver. Today, the Confluence Land Bridge crosses over the highway to reconnect people with the river.

John Paul Jones and Jones Architects designed the Land Bridge with artistic consultation by celebrated artist Maya Lin. Indigenous plants, native languages and basket weaving patterns reveal insights about the confluence of the land, the river and the people. The Welcome Gate, designed by artist Lillian Pitt, honors the Chinookan women who played an integral role in shaping this place. The Land Bridge is one of six Confluence sites connected to the Columbia River system. Confluence is a community supported nonprofit that connects people to place through art and education.

1 – Welcome Gate The Welcome Gate, by artist Lillian Pitt, greets visitors by representing and honoring the way Chinookan people welcome visitors arriving by canoe. Two cedar logs are topped with crossed canoe paddles, set with the cast-glass face of a Chinookan woman.

2 – Overlooks Three overlooks on the bridge mark the locations of the river, prairie and village. Spirit Baskets by Lillian Pitt feature figures inspired by Columbia River petroglyphs. The words for River, Land and People appear in nine native languages on stainless steel panels.

3 - Ethnobotancial Walkway Until the 17th century, the landscape was a patchwork of prairie, forest and wetlands. Native plant species from these distinct habitats are now showcased along the Land Bridge walkway, identified by a series of interpretative panels.

Find out more at www.confluenceproject.org

The Vancouver Land Bridge is a 40-foot-wide, earth-covered pedestrian bridge that reconnects a timehonored path to the river disrupted by a major state highway. It is one of six interpretive art landscapes created along 438 miles of the Columbia River by the Confluence Project.

The bridge is an educational experience linking the history, living culture, and ecology of the area from indigenous peoples to the people living here today.

Visit the Confluence website to listen to some of the 130 small excerpts of Native storytelling of this land, the river, and the peoples.

South entrance: To access the bridge, you can start from the Old Apple Tree Park along the Renaissance Trail and walk under the overpass to the welcome gate.

North entrance: From I-5, take Mill Plain east, turn right at Fort Vancouver Way, and continue through the roundabout. Turn left and park on East 5th Street. The path to the Land Bridge will be on your right.

confluenceproject.org 360-693-0123