Jordan D. Schnitzer, founder of the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation, together with his mother, Arlene Schnitzer and the Harold and Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation, are proud to sponsor the world premiere of theater production Astoria: Part One. This monumental piece of American history, adapted from Peter Stark’s best-selling book Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson’s Lost Pacific Empire; A Story of Wealth, Ambition, and Survival, will debut at The Armory in Portland, Oregon, on January 20th, in a performance by Portland Center Stage.
The Schnitzer family has longstanding ties to the Astoria community. Russian immigrant Samuel Schnitzer, grandfather of Jordan Schnitzer, started his scrap metal business in Astoria, Oregon, in 1905 before moving back to Portland. Jordan Schnitzer has continued the family’s commitment to the City of Astoria as Founder and President of the Friends of the Astoria Column, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preservation, stewardship, and public education related to the Astoria Column, a 126-ft high monument commemorating the settling of the West. He spearheaded the landmark’s first full art restoration, completed in 1995, and subsequent restoration in 2015.
Astoria: Part One covers President Thomas Jefferson and John Jacob Astor’s journey to Astoria, two years after the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Astoria: Part Two is about the establishment of Astoria, the first permanent United States settlement on the West Coast.
Astoria photos are available for download on Flickr.
Tickets for Astoria: Part One are on sale now. To purchase tickets, visit the Portland Center Stage website.