ASTORIA, Ore (KOIN) — Catch the right day, and the views from atop the famous Astoria Column are stunning. It stretches some 125 feet into the air, perched high on a hill, and next month marks its 100th anniversary as the country celebrates 250 years of its own. Mac Burns can’t wait. “The artwork and the story behind the column deserve to be told,” says Burns, who is the executive director of the non-profit Friends of Astoria Column. “It was the dream of Ralph Bud, from Great Northern Railroad.