Exhibits

Current Exhibit

The Carvings of Hallie Heacock

October 22, 2020 – April 11, 2021

Oregon Historical Society
1200 SW Park Ave
Portland, Oregon 97205

The Carvings of Hallie Heacock features a sample of the wood and ivory carvings by local artist Hallie Heacock.

• Free for Members
• Family-friendly
• Researchers
• Teachers

Current Exhibit

Nevertheless, They Persisted: Women’s Voting Rights and the 19th Amendment

March 14, 2020 – December 5, 2021

Oregon Historical Society
1200 SW Park Ave
Portland, Oregon 97205

This original exhibit connects Oregon history to the national history of woman suffrage and commemorates the bravery of the women (and men) who demanded the vote and used their rights to shape our nation and our world.

• Family-friendly
• Free for Members
• Researchers
• Teachers

Current Exhibit

We are the Rose City! A History of Soccer in Portland

July 24, 2020 – September 26, 2021

Oregon Historical Society
1200 SW Park Ave
Portland, Oregon 97205

We are the Rose City! explores the history of professional soccer in Portland and the cultural context of the game. From the athletes to the fans, this original exhibit chronicles the many milestones that have shaped “Soccer City.”

• Free for Members
• Family-friendly
• Researchers
• Teachers

Current Exhibit

Deep Blue: From National Wonder to National Park

August 12, 2020 – April 25, 2021

Oregon Historical Society
1200 SW Park Ave
Portland, Oregon 97205

Deep Blue: From National Wonder to National Park is a photographic exhibit featuring the work of several photographers who focused their lenses on the immense beauty of Crater Lake.

• Family-friendly
• Free for Members
• Researchers
• Teachers

Permanent Exhibit

Experience Oregon

Oregon Historical Society
1200 SW Park Ave
Portland, Oregon 97205

Visitors of all ages, and from all parts of the world, come to the Oregon Historical Society each year to learn about Oregon. Whether you were born here, have chosen to make this place home, or are just passing through, it is undeniable that there is something special about this state. From its varied geography to its innovative legislation, Oregon is complex and distinctive, filled with people whose stories are the foundation of the state we see today. A dynamic educational space, Experience Oregon allows visitors to learn about the countless people, places, and events that have shaped this place.

• Family-friendly
• Free for Members
• Teachers
• Researchers

Online Exhibit

“A Symbol of Home”: The Environmental and Political Legacy of Tom McCall in Oregon

Famous for his forceful language and political skill, Governor Tom McCall has remained the name and face of Oregon’s remarkable legacy of environmental lawmaking. His environmental efforts were not the earliest in the state, nor were his achievements his alone; but he provided people with a compelling and ambitious narrative that emphasized citizen responsibility to protect the land and its resources. This narrative continues to inform many aspects of lawmaking and advocacy in Oregon.

• Family-friendly
• Researchers
• Teachers

Online Exhibit

Flaxen: From Flax to Linen in the Willamette Valley, Oregon

Reproductions of hand-tinted glass lantern slides from the early 1930s document how flax was grown and processed to make fabric. The slides from the Oregon Historical Society’s Portland Public School (PPS) Collection were shown to schoolchildren to illustrate various Oregon industries and, in this case, children learned about making towels and napkins at the Oregon Linen Mill in Salem.

• Family-friendly
• Researchers
• Teachers

Online Exhibit

Frames Per Second: Selections from the OHS 16mm News Film Collection, 1969-1981

The images in this exhibit are scans from the KOIN and KPTV 16mm news film collections held at the Oregon Historical Society (OHS) Research Library. Every three frames of 16mm film represents 1/8 of a second — or just faster than the blink of an eye. These stories represent, in part, the day-to-day events that helped shape Portland from 1969 to 1981.

• Family-friendly
• Researchers
• Teachers

Online Exhibit

Harnessing the Power of Photography: Selections from the OHS Portland General Electric Collections, 1895-1979

The photographs in this exhibit show how Portland General Electric (PGE) used photography to promote its business over a span of more than 85 years. The images, all taken from the OHS Research Library, address the way in which PGE used photography to define and promote its various audiences: workers, engineers, managers, and customers.

• Family-friendly
• Researchers
• Teachers

Online Exhibit

Lost Portland

At the turn of the 19th century, Portland was still the metropolis of the Pacific Northwest, and its buildings reflected a sense of urban grandeur rivaling the great cities of North America. As the twentieth century progressed, many of these buildings fell victim to changing needs, economic imperatives, and a growing decentralization of urban life. While the Oregon Historical Society’s Davies Family Research Library holds thousands of images of lost Portland, few are so evocative of the city’s past grandeur as these postcards, created from re-touched and hand-colored photographs.

• Family-friendly
• Teachers
• Researchers

Online Exhibit

Mirror on the Modern Woman: Selected Images from the Oregon Journal, 1927–1932

The 1920s heralded the era of the Modern Woman, a more adventurous and independent type open to new possibilities. The new exhibit Mirror on the Modern Woman depicts some of these Modern Women, young and old, at work and at play. The exhibit features fifteen photographs from the 1920s and ’30s selected from the Oregon Historical Society Research Library’s collection of negatives from the Oregon Journal newspaper.

• Family-friendly
• Researchers
• Teachers

Online Exhibit

Portland: A Lot of People Have Lived Here

Call it the Clearing, Stumptown, City of Roses, P-Town, PDX, Ripcity, Bridgetown, or Little Beirut—Portland answers to them all. The city sits on the Willamette River, both sleepy and overwrought, dominating Oregon in population and voting trends. Obama loved it, George H.W. did not, Teddy Roosevelt slept here, and the Queen of Romania stopped by for dinner.

• Family-friendly
• Researchers
• Teachers

Online Exhibit

The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde

The people of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde represent almost thirty different tribes and bands that the U.S. government removed to the Grand Ronde Reservation in the nineteenth century. The history of the reservation—and how so many western Oregon Native people came to reside there—is long and complex. With support from the Spirit Mountain Community Fund, the Oregon Historical Society is working with scholars in an ongoing effort to create Oregon Encyclopedia entries on the people, places, and events connected to the history of the Grand Ronde people. Included in this new online exhibit are recently published entries by E.A. Schwartz, Kenneth Ames, David Lewis, Robert T. Boyd, Henry Zenk, William Lang, Dan Boxberger, Yvonne Hadja, and Chuck Williams. OHS archival material connected to the history of the Grand Ronde have been digitized and published on the OHS digital history websites.

• Family-friendly
• Researchers
• Teachers

Online Exhibit

The Fred Meyer Story

In many ways, the story of Fred G. Meyer and Fred Meyer, Inc. mirrors the story of the expansion and development of the city of Portland from a small, rugged, Western town to a booming metropolis. Follow the story of Fred Meyer from its humble beginnings to its expansion across the West.

• Family-friendly
• Teachers
• Researchers

Traveling Exhibit

Oregon Voices Traveling Exhibit

Our Oregon Voices traveling exhibit is a mobile version of the OHS permanent exhibit by the same name. The exhibit has five, three-sided pop-up kiosks that explore some of the important people, industries, organizations, and laws that have shaped the state from the end of World War II to 2020.

• Family-friendly
• Researchers
• Teachers

Traveling Exhibit

Clink! A Taste of Oregon Wine

Adapted from the Summer 2014 exhibition, "Clink! A Taste of Oregon Wine," the Oregon Historical Society has developed a traveling version of the exhibition which includes twelve colorful banners with photographs and text illustrating the history of the flourishing Oregon wine industry. This traveling exhibit is currently available for rental to historical societies and other groups.

• Family-friendly
• Teachers
• Researchers