Joe and George Grebe, Columbia River Maritime Museum, Astoria, OR, 97103.
Posted by: 
greysman
N 46° 11.398 W 123° 49.438
10T E 436417 N 5115484
The flagstaff at the Columbia River Maritime Museum carries a memorial plaque to Joe and George Grebe, father and son founders of the Northwest Marine Iron Works.
Waymark Code: WMJMNG
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 12/05/2013
Views: 12
Joe Grebe, and his son George, founded Northwest Marine Iron Works which in the 1970s was at its peak a $100 million company machining parts for the maritime industry and some of the world's largest public works projects. It was one of the oldest ship repair contractors in Portland and contributed significantly to marine iron work production during war time. They also serviced, repaired and rebuilt many naval and commercial vessels over the years. The wooden patterns for some of these parts are still stored on the premises and were hand crafted for such diverse projects as the Aswan Dam, Bonneville Dam, and Portland's Steel Bridge.
It became part of the vast Portland Shipyard in the mid 50s after an expansion of the site and during the 60s and 70s they, and other docks and concerns on the site, experienced a period of growth. The Company met its decline in the early 80s the oil crisis significantly affecting the business and income and when its charismatic founder and president George Grebe died the company finally floundered and it was forced to file for bankruptcy in 1989. It was acquired by the large shipping concern Southwest Marine but they left the yard in 1993 ending the long history of Northwest Marine, but not for good...
The heavy industrial history of this sprawling complex of World War II vintage buildings continues... The sixty-five thousand feet of structures stand on two acres in the heart of what is now the Guild's Lake Industrial Sanctuary. Two blocks down hill from Montgomery Park, tenants range all the way from the manufacturing business Shellcore Specialties to the Portland Zoo's "Zoo Lights" division to theatrical set designers. In between are the usual mix of painters and sculptors, with an emphasis on the more industrial creative arts, welding and woodworking.
The brass plaque on the flagstaff reads:-
In Memory of
JOE GREBE
and his son
GEORGE GREBE
Founders of
Northwest Marine Iron Works
The flagstaff is capable of flying up to five flags at any one time and has been erected at the centre of a stone compass rose.
Information sourced from various web sites.