How To Best Enjoy The Oregon Maritime Museum In Downtown Portland
One of the historical facts about Portland, Oregon is that it was originally a seaport with direct access to the Pacific Ocean, while still offering the inland climate, shipyards, and commercial areas that had trouble thriving on the coast. Add to that, direct railroad routes leading to many of the broad expanses of wheat, corn, barley, and other crops in the giant agricultural states to the East, and Portland was perfectly located to be a maritime hub. There were paddle boats, freighters, barges, and steamboats navigating the waters or the Columbia and the Willamette rivers that connect right at Portland. The Oregon Maritime Museum, located at 115 SW Ash, in downtown Portland is an excellent place to learn the history of the Portland waterfront.
Founded By Enthusiasts-Enjoyed By All
The Oregon Maritime Museum was originally founded back in 1980 by a large group of maritime enthusiasts that were worried that much of the colorful history of the Portland waterfront, and historical sternwheeler boats would be lost if it wasn’t preserved. They opened the museum right in the center of town, next to the Willamette River, where they gathered thousands of historical artifacts to put on display.
There is a completely and immaculately restored sternwheeler tug, named “The Portland” that can be toured, and it’s a big hit with young and old alike. There are also a variety of children’s programs that are open at various times to help kids learn about the history in an easy and interesting way. It is staffed by some highly qualified volunteers that take their work seriously to make every visit enjoyable by all.
The Oregon Maritime Museum Receives Fantastic Online Reviews
Most of the visitors to the museum brought children with them and tended to be worried that they may become bored, however, in their reviews, it seems that nothing of the sort happened. The children enjoyed themselves immensely, and the tour guides were wonderful with the children while being very knowledgeable. In all of the online reviews, every parent vowed to return to the museum whenever relatives or family visitors came to town.
In an interesting twist, there is also the availability to rent rooms at the museum for birthday parties and other fun events. Some of the reviewers of those fun times thought that the place was perfect for a child’s birthday party and educational at the same time. There are a lot of kid-friendly exhibits for them to explore and they spent plenty of time at each one.
Even If You’re Not A History Buff, You’ll Enjoy The Museum
The great job that they did refurbishing the sternwheeler is to be admired. The ship is fully operational and goes on cruises several times per year, up and down the Willamette River. The cruises are fantastic and very inexpensive if you want to bring a date for a romantic evening.
Once you return to the downtown area, there are hundreds of nearby restaurants, bars, shops, and venders to enjoy as well. On the weekends, there is also the famous Portland Saturday Market, where thousands of unique artists, craftspeople, and food vendors fill up the area under the Burnside Bridge. This makes for a perfect match of entertainment after you’ve enjoyed the Maritime Museum.
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Google map of Portland, Oregon location.
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