Museums
Portland Education
No matter what a Hotel Fifty guest’s educational interest – artistic, ethnic, historical, horticultural or scientific, Portland has a museum dedicated to preserving and/or exhibiting it.
Downtown, for example is home to all but one of Portland’s most well known museums. In fact, each of the following is less than three miles (9 minutes) from Hotel Fifty! We don’t say we’re conveniently located for nothing!
Hat Museum
One of Oregon’s most unusual historic homes has been transformed into Portland’s quirkiest attraction. The Ladd-Reingold House has a 100-year legacy of milliners and hat fanciers! Reservations are required. Wearing a hat is not!
Museum of Contemporary Craft
Founded in 1937, the Museum of Contemporary Craft exists in partnership with Pacific Northwest College of Art. The Exhibition Galleries’ 4,500 square feet at any time features multiple exhibitions that look to the present, future and past of craft. In addition to its exhibitions, the MoCC experience is complemented by The Gallery at Museum of Contemporary Craft—one of the primary destinations in the Pacific Northwest for purchasing exceptional contemporary crafts. The Gallery represents craft artists from across the nation working in ceramics, glass, wood, metal, fiber and mixed media. Gallery artists routinely visit the Museum for public gallery talks and hands-on demonstrations. You might meet one!
Oregon Historical Society Museum
The mission of the Oregon Historical Society is quite what a visitor might expect it would be: preserving and interpreting Oregon’s past in thoughtful, illuminating and provocative ways. Often as many as eleven diverse exhibitions are available for viewing.
Oregon Jewish Museum
The Oregon Jewish Museum, founded in 1989, is dedicated to Jewish art and history. In its small, storefront location in the heart of Portland’s Old Town, the museum offers innovative and challenging exhibitions and programs.
Oregon Maritime Center and Museum
It doesn’t get much closer than this! The Oregon Maritime Museum’s steam sternwheeler Portland is moored at the Willamette River in downtown Portland’s Waterfront Park. (Hotel Fifty is located right where downtown meets the river!) Visitors can experience the adventure of a lifetime on our rivers when they explore the last operating sternwheel steam tug in the United States.
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
OMSI’s mission? To inspire wonder! The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is a scientific, educational and cultural resource center dedicated to improving the public’s understanding of science and technology. OMSI makes science exciting and relevant through exhibits, programs and experiences presented in an entertaining and participatory fashion. And it truly does!
Portland Art Museum
Founded in late 1892, the Portland Art Museum is the seventh oldest museum in the United States and the oldest in the Pacific Northwest. The Museum is internationally recognized for its permanent collection and ambitious special exhibitions, drawn from the Museum’s holdings and the world’s finest public and private collections. Its collection of more than 42,000 objects, displayed in 112,000 square feet of galleries, reflects the history of art from ancient times to today. The collection is distinguished for its holdings of art of the native peoples of North America, English silver, and the graphic arts.
The Museum’s campus of landmark buildings, a cornerstone of Portland’s cultural district, includes the Jubitz Center for Modern and Contemporary Art, the Gilkey Center for Graphic Arts and the Northwest Film Center.
Portland Children’s Museum
The mission of the Portland Children’s Museum is to inspire imagination, creativity and the wonder of learning in children and adults by inviting moments of shared discovery. Founded in 1946 as part of Portland Parks and Recreation, the Museum is now the sixth oldest children’s museum in the country! Each year the Museum welcomes more than 280,000 children. Let yours be among them. Programs included natural history displays, arts and crafts classes and a pet lending library!
World Forestry Center
Founded in 1964, the World Forestry Center’s mission is to educate and inform visitors about the world’s forests and trees in order to promote a balanced and sustainable future. It accomplishes this through three programs:
- 20,000 square foot Discovery Museum in Washington Park
- Tree Farms – two working forests
- World Forest Institute
Located in Oregon City (only 23 miles and 19 minutes from Hotel Fifty) is the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center.
Beginning in the 1840′s more than 300,000 people began their Oregon Trail journey, living and writing their stories, one day at a time. Share in these stories with a visit to the dynamic End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. Living history presentations, Bound for Oregon, an experience in digital cinema, exhibits of artifacts and heirlooms from the trail and pioneer living activities provide a unique and one-of-a-kind experience.
Hotel Fifty’s proximity to MAX Light Rail… located less than a block from the hotel’s front door… makes it a snap to traverse to all but one of these museum attractions.
So get anywhere and everywhere you wish to visit when you come to Portland. But first, make your Hotel Fifty guestroom reservations.
