Great museum (I’m from LA and I’m still impressed!). Love the temporary exhibition on the suffragettes - wish it were permanent and if it included a footnote on the ERA that would be stellar. The permanent exhibition upstairs was amaaaazing and the gift shop is tiny but mighty! Very happy I stopped by - I came by twice between work breaks for ample time to really stroll and absorb the great exhibits. A great stop if you’re in town. Parking wasn’t too bad either. That was surprising.

Went in today after living in the neighborhood for over a year. I moved here from South Carolina, and I’ve enjoyed learning more about my new home state. There’s lots of good information about the development of Oregon and Portland, with emphasis on the role people of color played in making it what it is today, as well as honest talk about the challenges

One of the nicest museums in our country. Makes history come alive. Well -staged exhibits.

I had a nice little walkabout getting a very broad overview of the history of Oregon considering most of what I knew was from playing Oregon Trail as a kid.The main exhibit upstairs was lovely and I enjoyed seeing things of shared history between Oregon and Canada as the Hudsons Bay Company was very prominent where I am from and also helped shape history here in Alberta. Seeing the little relics like the turkey platter and stovepipe hat (my favourite for some reason) helped humanize the folks that came over and make it feel more relatable, even though it was very recent history.The Portland Penny was a bonus! I adore that it was kept and preserved. I also enjoyed the nautical history that was covered like the little terrestrial globe, and, of course, the more modern history of automobiles and Nike.The Greatest Photographs of the American West exhibit was also a treat as I recognized some and again, it showed a lot of that shared history between the American and Canadian West.

Great little piece of history here. Thoroughly enjoyed the history of Oregon exhibits. The hands on kid exhibit seemed pretty cool too. :)

Always informative, concise exhibits. Theres usually something new and the gift shop is always fun to peruse. This time I got to learn about the history of the Oregon Humane society, and of beer. Both quite fascinating.

An awesome place to learn about the history of Portland and Oregon at large.

Fascinating artifacts in each exhibit. Great short movie at start of Oregon history exhibit.

The price is very reasonable for what we saw. The best exhibit is up on the third floor where the history of Oregon was. We spent about 2 1/2 hours there.

So much to see and read. Plan on 4 or 5 hours to see everything.

Small exhibit celebrating 150 year history of Lincoln HS. Pictures and memorabilia. This exhibit illustrates the indelible links forged between the Portland community and its educational institutions. Whether you graduated from Lincoln High or another institution, the exhibit will engage visitors with its exploration of education through Portland’s history.Exhibit ends June 30 2019, so dont miss it.

Incredible museum in many ways - exhibits are very interesting and regularly rotate, the events and educational resources are phenomenal, and the staff is the best. Highly recommend!

This is an amazing place to learn oregon history. Very touched to see my great grandfather in many exhibits here representing the appriciation of his life and what it stood for .Peopeomoxmox is still loved.

Cool little museum to spend a couple hours, with 3 floors of exhibits, including the newest Experience Oregon. The hands-on area is geared more towards children around 7 years or older, but our little one enjoyed walking around seeing the sights for a bit, too.

I have belonged to the historical society for a number of years but have only been able to see the Beatles exhibit on the last day,, November 12, 2019. It was great; I hope to return after the pandemic is less of a threat. They have great historical items that I want to explore.

Really great place for visitors to learn a little about Oregon. They had an excellent exhibit featuring the struggle for black equality.

Great place to spend an hour or so. A little too heavy on the victimization and marginalization BS. In the grand scheme of history, nobody will care if your feelings were hurt. I think they should really accentuate the Lewis and Clark expedition. I’ve been to museums in Pittsburgh and Charlottesville that did a better job.

As a foreigner its always really sad to read about USA history, with all they fears. But as a museum it is really interactive and show pieces of the history that theyre not really common. Have an amazing and interactive hub on the basement which it talks about respect and been inclusive and is really interactive for kids. By the time they have JFK temporary exposicion and it was interesting. Specially the EXCCOM game.

Attended the Beatles 50th anniversary show and was amazed and awed. I had not visited the Society before, and this was a total treat. The space is inviting, the staff very friendly and the price was right, a FREE day! The highlights of the Beatles exhibit was the sing-along booth to Yellow Submarine, and the virtual drum lesson given by Ringo. As a long-time bass player, Paul was my idol, and it was so incredible to see a couple of his basses on display. An incredibly informative and fascinating exhibit. I will definitely return.

Back open!!With free entry for Multnomah residents, so pleased we get to see the Soccer City exhibition & the (2020 postponed) womens sufferage exhibition. Support your local museum & head over there. They also have an excellent gift shop.

Fun for the family, or ones self. History is always a good thing to learn.

I hardly give 3 stars, which means just okay. Actually I dont recommend to visit here before the 3rd floor open. The only two floors dont meet my expectations.

Not the type of museum one would expect. Its exhibits are limited and not very global. Mostly local nostalgia

This place was awesome, albeit I was there for a special event. Walked through the exhibits and they were pretty cool. I will totally go back.

Our first visit and definitely wont be our last. Really great museum filled with Oregon history 👍.

Great history museum. Explains how the state become to be really well. The JFK exhibition was fantastic. As a Londoner, coming from a city that has some of the best museums, this place is up there.

They recently updated the permanent exhibit of the history of Oregon with some hi-tech equipment - a once great exhibit is now made even better! The Oregon Historical Society has a great gift shop and seasonal exhibits too. From the Beatles in Oregon to its long and surprising craft beer history, I’ve always enjoyed the time spent in this museum. If you like museums you’ll enjoy this one and learn a lot.

I never realized this was a full fledged Oregon history museum. Masterfully curated, it takes you through all these aspects of Oregon history that are quite profound. Its a real treasure for us Oregonians and should be great for anyone who enjoys history and museums.

This was not a very large museum, but a very educational and interesting place to visit to learn about Oregon and its history from various times. There were a good number of well displayed exhibits with lots of great facts and information to immerse yourself in this great States history.We were lucky and arrived on a Saturday Family day, so the entry was free. It is always nice to visit someplace for free, but if you dont make it on such a day, they do offer a number of discounts including a AAA discount if you have your card.Start from the 3rd floor and work your way down. The 3rd. floor is where you will find most of the historical stuff. Lots of well preserved artifacts from time past and great information behind them to really educate yourself with.The second floor which is their main entrance area contains special exhibits. At the time we visited, there was a beer, Beatles, and a historical exhibit from a local high school I think. The Beatles exhibit was fun with lots of memorabilia from the bands heydays. The beer exhibit had a few interesting things, but was in such a large space seemed to make it look very small and lacking something.The first floor or what seemed like a basement depending on the side of the building it was on, contained art and photos as well as an interactive area for children.This was nice visit and was glad we went.

Its nice

So kind people, they have a summer kitchen now at patio. Wich make it a more complete place to visit. So good experience!!!

Im an Oregonian, do I have to give it 5 stars. Seriously though, the OHS provides an in-depth look at Oregons past and present. Visiting exhibits can be pretty random, but almost always interesting.

Wow! This place is super nice and clean. The exhibits are well thought out. 3 floors of exhibits and 1 floor for research. Small gift store but they carry a lot of different items. Wonderful ladies selling tickets and trinkets.

Excellent selection of materials in the research area upstairs. Very helpful and useful advice on all sorts of subject matter. Most exhibits are fantastic but some can be a bit too specific on subject matters that are only of interest to certain types of people (like the whole beer theme they did).

Definitely beat my expectations. I received some serious inspiration in this museum. I am simply amazed by how few people were there! That was the lamest part of it all - Portland has this truly amazing museum and so few people were there...is something wrong with their marketing or something?? Just before this I saw some gardens that are really famous, but I was more inspired and impacted by the museum (even though FAR more people were at the gardens). But in a way I was happy so few people were there - I had a more relaxing visit that way. Thank you for providing this wonderful, wonderful museum! SOOO interesting!!

This place is so cool! Ive lived in Oregon my entire life and so Im proud of my heritage. The historical exhibit was very informative and lots of fun! The kids liked the history hub. There were lots of have on activities both my 13 and 5 year olds loved it. Definitely will come again!

Really great place to stop by if you want to learn about the history of Oregon. Well designed exhibits that are very interesting. When we were here they had an exhibition on Kennedy. In the words of our greeter: the connections to Oregon are...vague but it was still fun to learn about all the same. Good way to spend an hour or two and theyve got a nice gift store as well. We parked on the street right outside and paid at the meter

Despite part of the exhibit being closed for enhancements, this was a wonderful museum to visit. The top floor timeline of Oregon history is especially well curated. We got discount admission due to the partial closure, but we felt more than happy with our $5 purchase!

Visited here with my kids to look for any historic photos of our house. We didnt find any but certainly had fun seeing pictures of our neighborhood! The staff were super kind and helpful. Thank you!

I will be attending the screening of Priced Out tomorrow at 7pm and look forward to an excellent public conversation with director Cornelius Swart and Karen Gibson of Portland State University in the question and answer forum after the movie. I am super grateful to the Oregonian Historical Society for hosting this event and have shared the news of timely event on Social Media. *****TEN STARS*****

An interesting museum if you are interested in the history of the Pacific Northwest, Oregon and Portland. A great exhibit on the native American presence and the timeline of the European people in the area that is only a couple of centuries old. Several special exhibits: one on Oregon State University and another on the early days of bird photography in Oregon.

I think the Experience Oregon exhibit hits it out of the park. Well done. I went there today for the first time, and it is clear I will need to go back at least 10 times to really absorb it all. This is without question, the best permanent exhibit I have seen at OHS in over 20 years.

The museum would be more appropriately named the Oregon Racism Museum. Doing so would properly frame the nature of the exhibits, which deal pretty comprehensively with the role that discrimination played in Oregons history. What is absent, however, is a more general and constructive treatment of the states varied background. An example of the museums focus is the long video about how the construction of the dam that submerged Celilo falls impacted the Indian tribe that had fished there for generations. But there is no information on the dam itself, why the authorities chose to devote enormous resources to its constructions, how the clean energy that it generates is even more relevant today, and other considerations. In summary, the visitor walks away from the museum better informed about some of the states racist warts, but no more educated about the states innumerable other historical facets than when they walked in.

One of the best historical society in the US

Delightful experience. The museum is bigger than I thought, with lots of interactive displays. You will come away knowing a lot more about Oregon history then you realized was possible.

Well there are some interesting things here. Not very many. Spent about 40 minutes - 10 minutes were pretty interesting. Kinda. Shrug. Not my thing.

Very pleasant time I will come back tomorrow because there are a lot of things to learn and see I went to the Beattles exhibitions which was nice as well the lady at this entrance was really sweet and welcoming smiling ! So pleasant to seize the afternoon there

A small museum, but worth the time. The Oregon display is very interesting and gives you a sense of the states history. They have spent a lot of time and effort and it is very much appreciated

This museum has plenty of diverse exhibits, about half of which are directly related to Oregon history. The setup is pretty convoluted, but wandering around is half the fun.

Free museums are always lovely, but they could definitely do more and better here. Some exhibits consist of a few desultory and disordered roll-up posters in makeshift hallway spaces. Hopefully theyll improve.

Now open week-ends

I had a free ticket and went with a friend. It was a Saturday (Smithsonian Saturday), so busier than usual. Honestly, it was boring. The guy at the front desk was rude and slow. He looked like he needed some extra help/support but he was all by himself.The Kennedy exhibit didnt adequately cover his assassination, which is the most interesting part.

Beautiful displays and such, but the content is lacking. Only a sentence or so on the fascinating Bannoc War (Seattle was warned of the attack by Chief Seattles daughter saving the city!) Modoc War (General Canby only General killed in NativeAm Wars), Snake/Rogue River Wars (Expensive!) and other important Oregonian figures. For example MacLoughlin the Father of Oregon married a Chinook and established the impressive fort in Vancouver we still see today, but the only mention we have is that he authorized an unjust attack on Yaqui- an often hostile group that often preyed on local Cowlitz, Klamath and Siletz bands. Couldve used some context there to form our own opinion of him. Another example was a bullet point about six catholic sisters settling a school. In reality the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur wanted to pursue a mission field but didnt knew where so wrote to the local bishop, who said we could use help in Garibaldi. He meant Italy, but the ladies went from Antwerp across the Atlantic on the Oregonian trail to Oregon Territory to Garibaldi, Tillamook County. We hear about Vanport but what about Bayocean? I understand we have Fort Stevens and Lewis and Clark Museum to focus on WW2 and the pioneers more, respectively, but urban Oregonians couldve really learn a lot more from this prime location downtown.Bookstore tiny, they cited several literary works about Oregon from late 19th early 20th century that wouldve been cool to include in the bookstore.

This place has a ton of information on a variety of topics related to Oregon. It was somewhere Id like to go back to and visit again when I have more time. I recommend going for learning &/or nostalgia.

“Great overview of Oregon history”The permanent exhibit covering the history of Oregon is quite well done. They also have numerous changing exhibits. Although it is not the largest museum, it is worth visiting.

Good museum. It is kind of small, but its cheap, only 10 bucks. They also skimp out on the WW2 exhibit, a very important time. Good artifacts selection.

Excellent place to learn a bit about Oregon. Nice staff, interesting exhibits. We will definitely be back to see more!

We saw Peter and the Wolf childrens concert, and it was a good ever. Highly recommend.

A lot of interesting information about Oregon history!! Thanks!

So many wonderful things to see. So many lovely quotes to read. Better than I can even rate.

The park bench was a little wet so I had to smoke while pushing my bike,otherwise i would have given it a 5 star!!!

The top floor does a great job of explaining how the state got to where it is. Lots of very interesting artifacts. The special exhibits were great the time we were there.

Friendly staff, we were there during renovation of the main exhibit so we did not get the entire experience. The exhibits that were open provided us with insight in Oregons history which us east coasters had no idea about.

On our vacation we went here and very nice but had areas closed off so could not see all.

So great! A must see! Get to know your city and region!! The section on gentrification is surprising clear eyed, w multiple perspectives.

Lots of great exhibits. Knowledgeable staff here. Great way to spend a rainy day

Rad and inexpensive museum. Cool if youre into local history.

The little museum that tries harder. The permanent exhibits are fairly minor but well dons and comprehensive but they go above and beyond with their special shows. Free to Multnomah residents its a perfect place to bring visitors.

Definitely coming back, had alot of fun! Such a pleasant place

This museum is the best, filled with objects from the Native American and European people. Great history!

We enjoy their exhibits. Lots of info about my native state and hometown of Portland.

We were looking for particular photos in the research library, and found some intriguing information along with several photos.

Very detailed information. Great displays.

You learn history here. This building also has a meeting room for a discussion with around 20 person.

Its a great place to visit. Had a lot of amazing exhibits.

Great exhibits currently.

This place is great and the kids were entertained as well!

Fun to see and fun to learn... must see at lease one.

Much smaller than I expected; what they have is well done.

It was interesting and nice to see. I enjoyed my visit.

The exhibits are ok but I got in trouble for taking a photo on my phone and the attendant demanded that I delete it. Some museums and galleries dont have a problem with it and I didnt see any signs saying no photography. Also we knew that it closed at 5pm but felt pressured to leave at 4.50pm when we were enjoying the exhibits near the exit.

Very nice displays showing different time periods of Oregons habitation.

History is pretty amazing

Some interesting stuff. Could be cooler

The best most accurate place to get some history on portland while visiting this city. the staff are all friendly and also know a lot of random oregon facts.

Attended lunar new years event. Fun event, and free too boot.

Great place well worth the money.

Wonderful opportunity to share family history of my great great grandfather James Terwilliger and arrange to donate family stories and treasures to the society before I get any older.Michael Terwilliger Rogers Lake

Really excellent permanent collection and the Kennedy Exhibit was super interesting.

Experience Oregon Exhibit- 2 thumbs up!

This is a great view into Oregonian history. Wish I had a few hours to explore it!

Every person should visit. Much more than you think.

Enjoyed the museum, a bit political for my taste.

Great spot. Now under construction.

The staff called me a girl and I fell down a flight of stairs

Nice place to learn about Portland, and Oregon. its for free for Multnomah county residents, just make sure to show them your state ID..

The Oregon My Oregon permanent exhibition covers all the highlights of Oregon history and is well put together. The other exhibition in the basement was confusing: its not obvious where to go, what the story is, and overall it left me quite disoriented.

Great Beatle memoriability

Very interesting, staff was friendly and helpful

Informative content that covers a wide variety or modern Oregon cultures