Nye Beach

Nye Beach is a central district in Newport in the U.S. state of Oregon. The Nye Beach historic overlay district is bounded on the north and south sides by Northwest Twelfth Street and Southwest Second Street respectively; on the east side by Herbert Street and on the west side by the Pacific Ocean. Situated on a sea cliff, the district has been a popular vacation spot since the late 19th century. Cultural and literary groups such as Oregon Coast Council for the Arts, Yaquina Art Association, and Writers on the Edge are based in Nye Beach, as are Newport's Performing Arts and Visual Arts Centers. The beach attracts tide-pool enthusiasts and beachcombers as well as surfers, sail-boarders, crabbers, clam diggers, kite flyers, photographers, and artists and has also been the site of marine and geological research projects.

In the early 1800s, the beach that would become Nye Beach was demarcated to the south by the Yaquina River and a rocky outcropping known as Jump-off Joe. In those days, Jump-off Joe extended into the sea and posed an obstacle to beach traffic. By the mid-20th century, coastal erosion had caused the sea stack to separate from the cliff, develop an arch, and finally crumble, leaving only a scattering of rock formations to mark the spot. Without this natural barrier nothing remains to separate Nye Beach from Agate Beach State Recreation Site to the north.

Since the demise of Jump-off Joe, at least one (and possibly more) similar, but less imposing, outcroppings have appeared, carved by coastal erosion from the sea cliff. "Slipper Rock," a few hundred feet south of the original Jump-off Joe, resembled its predecessor, complete with arch, and in time met a similar fate. A 2004 geological report on the Oregon coast refers to the entire slide area north of Nye Creek as the Jump-off Joe landslide block.

In 1942 a landslide took out about 15 acres (6 ha) of coastal land and downed a number of houses at the Jump-off Joe site; other homes in the area were undermined by subsequent erosion.

In 1980 a condominium development under construction near the "Slipper" site also collapsed.

Remnants of both events can still be seen. Broken cement walls and footings in the Slipper area are visible from the sea.

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