Exhibits

Interested in a group tour of our exhibits? Learn more about Group Tours

Black United Front leader, Ron Herndon, stands on a desk at a School Board protest against the closure of Harriet Tubman Middle School, March 30, 1982. Steve Nehl, Oregon Journal. OrHi 95005 ba018353

Current Exhibit

Racing to Change: Oregon’s Civil Rights Years

Oregon Historical Society
1200 SW Park Ave
Portland, Oregon 97205

This exhibit illuminates Oregon’s vibrant black community and their courage, struggle and progress amongst a larger context of discrimination and displacement during the civil rights movement in Oregon in the 1960’s and 1970’s.

  • Free for Members
  • Family-friendly
  • Teachers
KBOO photographs 015

Current Exhibit

50 Years of KBOO

Oregon Historical Society
1200 SW Park Ave
Portland, Oregon 97205

50 Years of KBOO is the story of Oregon’s first community radio station. Learn how KBOO started as a relief to Portland’s bleak FM desert and became a community effort to build a more accessible media. This exhibition reveals how KBOO connects to counter-culture and activism locally as well as nationally. See how radio is made, and how listener-supported radio first came to be, as part of a chronicle of our region’s shared history.

  • Family-friendly
  • Free for Members
  • Researchers
  • Teachers
Aerial view painting of OSC campus, 1912

Current Exhibit

Oregon State University: A Legacy of Transformation

Oregon Historical Society
1200 SW Park Ave
Portland, Oregon 97205

For 150 years, Oregon State University has provided access to a high-quality college education for all Oregonians, solving tough challenges through groundbreaking research, serving community needs, and propelling the state and global economy. This exhibit shares — through 150 stories — how Oregon State University has transformed the community, the state, the nation, and the world in surprising ways.

  • Free for Members
  • Family-friendly
  • Researchers
  • Teachers
Hilton Hotel Watercolor Mural by Bill Papas

Current Exhibit

The Painting of Personalities: The Iconic Hilton Hotel Watercolor Mural by Bill Papas

Oregon Historical Society
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97205

From 1995 to 2014, the customers dining in the Bistro 921 of the Portland Hilton were overseen by this 8 ½ foot by 4 ½ foot watercolor mural featuring fifty-four iconic Portland personalities. When the hotel was remodeled, the Hilton donated the painting to the Oregon Historical Society. Featuring the likenesses of individuals such as Mark and Antoinette Hatfield, Phil Knight, Gert Boyle, and Vera Katz, the painting was a favorite of Portlanders who loved to discover how many people they could identify.

  • Free for Members
  • Researchers
  • Family-friendly
  • Teachers
Two young road-runners sitting upright after swallowing lizards, the tails of which are still hanging from their mouths. Arizona, 1910. William L. Finley Photographs Collection, OrgLot369_FinleyA0156

Current Exhibit

Birds on the Wire

Oregon Historical Society
1200 SW Park Ave
Portland, Oregon 97205

Birds on the Wire presents a gallery of bird photography featuring the work of William L. Finley and Herman T. Bohlman. The exhibit reflects on Finley and Bohlman’s use of photo essays in the Sunday Oregonian to help advance their conservation goals and connect readers with the birdlife of Oregon.

  • Free for Members
  • Family-friendly
  • Researchers
  • Teachers
Herman T. Bohlman and A. W. Anthony photographing kingfishers. Portland, Oregon, 1902. Org. Lot 369, Finley A2723.

Current Exhibit

Catching Birds with a Camera: Finley, Bohlman, and the Photographs that Launched Oregon’s Conservation Movement

Oregon Historical Society
1200 SW Park Ave
Portland, Oregon 97205

In their explorations of the marshy ponds around turn-of-the-century Portland, William L. Finley and his childhood friend Herman T. Bohlman developed an artistic knack for bird photography. Through popular essays and community lantern slide shows, the pair introduced audiences to the hidden lives of their avian neighbors. Their images and careful observation also provided an important body of scientific evidence and influenced conservation policy.

  • Free for Members
  • Family-friendly
  • Researchers
  • Teachers
Woman admiring Caroline Testout rose hedge NW 25th & Lovejoy

Current Exhibit

Madame Caroline Testout: The Rose that Made Portland Famous

Oregon Historical Society
1200 SW Park Ave
Portland, Oregon 97205

Visitors were astonished by the rose-lined streets of Portland when they arrived for the Lewis & Clark Exposition in 1905. Rose mania was underway and Portland became internationally known as the Rose City. The year 1907 saw the beginning of the Rose Festival with hedges and home gardens providing millions of roses for floats, women’s hats, and anything else that could be covered in roses. This exhibit chronicles the story of Madame Caroline Testout, the pink rose that made Portland famous and turned Stumptown into the City of Roses.

  • Family-friendly
  • Free for Members
  • Researchers