Oregon Historical Society

Since its founding in 1907 — inspired in part by Mayor Harry Lane’s call for an annual “festival of roses” — the Rose Festival has brought Portlanders together through parades, pageantry, and shared civic traditions that have helped shape the city’s identity for more than a century.

With this year’s festivities underway, it’s a fitting time to reflect on how Portland earned its nickname as the Rose City and on the many stories that have made Portland the vibrant, ever-evolving place we know today. At the Oregon Historical Society, our permanent exhibition Rivers, Roses, and Rip City: The Remarkable History of Portland explores the people, places, and events that have shaped the city and the communities and traditions that continue to define Portland.

Kids 17 and under and Multnomah County residents get free admission to our museum every day! Plan your visit: https://www.ohs.org/museum/exhibits/rivers-roses-and-rip-city.cfm

Image: Beatrice Morrow Cannady’s son, George, sits on a bicycle decorated with roses that he rode in the 1921 Rose Festival Parade. OHS Research Library, Beatrice Morrow Cannady family papers, Coll 702, folder 31, item 15.

OHS recently loaned 14 objects from the Yasui Brothers Co. museum collection to the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, Texas, for its America 250 exhibition "What We Bring to the Table: Tales of History and Home." These loaned objects are all family-centered, some donated in 1991 by Homer Yasui and others by another family member, Amy Cheshire. Reproductions of photographs from the Yasui collections preserved in our research library were also shared for this exhibition.

The Yasui museum collection features more than 1,300 objects, many which can be seen in "The Yasui Family: An American Story," on view at OHS through September 6. Learn more about some of the objects featured in the exhibition in this video published on our blog.

https://www.ohs.org/blog/highlights-from-the-yasui-museum-collection.cfm

1) Right: This byobu (folding screen) belonged to Renichi Fujimoto and Matsuyo Fujimoto. OHS Museum 91-97.889. 2) This plate, used for special occasions, belonged to Yuka (Yasui) Fujikura, the youngest child of Masuo Yasui and Shidzuyo Yasui. OHS Museum 2024-40.4.

For more than 130 years, Portland’s Heritage Tree #1 stood as a quiet witness to Portland’s growth. When it became clear the tree needed to be removed for safety reasons, Portland Parks & Recreation’s (PP&R) Urban Forestry division wanted to make sure its legacy extended well into the future.

In August 2024, PP&R Urban Forestry staff removed the tree with the care and respect that such a landmark deserved, and its legacy will endure for generations through hand-crafted benches at Portland community centers. A piece of its trunk will also be preserved and cared for in OHS’s museum collection.

In this recent blog post, guest contributor Samantha Wolf reflects on the tree’s history and the ongoing work of PP&R Urban Forestry staff to share Heritage Tree #1’s story.

https://www.ohs.org/blog/the-life-and-legacy-of-heritage-tree-1.cfm

Image: OHS Registrar Kim Buergel and Portland Parks & Recreation Botanic Specialist Samantha Wolf pose with a half-round piece of the Heritage Tree #1. Photo by Samantha Wolf.