Described as the first floating restaurant in Portland, Oregon, the Anchorage opened as a coffee shop in 1946 on a moorage along the Willamette River, south of the Sellwood Bridge. Owners Roy Herlbert and his wife, Nathalie Herlbert, lived on a nearby houseboat. After purchasing the moorage, they established the coffee shop, which eventually expanded into a full-service restaurant. With the construction of a new building on the riverbank in 1955 and the addition of a second deck in 1959, the restaurant’s capacity expanded to 300 and accommodated large events and banquets. Roy Herlbert sold the Anchorage to developers in 1978 after his bid to renovate the restaurant and moorage was rejected in favor of a commercial and residential renewal project. In 1980, a new restaurant called Salty's opened in the building formerly occupied by the Anchorage, and operated there until the early 1990s. In 1993, the restaurant was leased to John Underhill, Dennis Rakowski, and Mike Gano, who reopened it as the Willamette Anchorage, then later changed the name to the Anchorage Riverside Bar and Grill. By 1997, the restaurant was sold to condominium developers who used the site to expand the Waverly Yacht Club and Condominiums.

Source: “Anchorage moored permanently,” by Rolla J. Crick, Oregon Journal, March 26, 1974, page 4M ; “Anchorage project resurrected,” by Michael Alesko, Oregonian, October 25, 1978, page E7; “What’s in a name? At Salty’s, quite a bit,” by Dan Duff, Oregon Journal, March 6, 1980, page 23; “Obituary for Nathalie M. Smith Herlbert,” Oregonian, September 16, 2001, page C17; “Bright touch,” Oregonian, May 12, 1993, page D2; “River site ripe for new use,” by Jim Hill, Oregonian, August 6, 1997, page D1.