Oregon Maritime Museum

The Oregon Maritime Museum is a fun adventure on the banks of the scenic Wilamette River. Housed inside the U.S. Portland, the museum will teach you all about the storied history of Oregon’s waterways. With activities for adults and children, it is a fun visit when walking through the Waterfront Park.

Located off of Naito Parkway, the museum makes a great stop when deciding what to do downtown. Any visit to the Rose City will most likely take you to the banks of the Willamette River. Stopping off at the Oregon Maritime Museum is a perfect way to give you a rest from your stroll while adding a bit of history to your visit.

The U.S. Portland is the last sternwheel tug to be built in the United States, going into service in 1947. This grand ship harkens back to a day when Portland was an industrious port city. While Portland still has a busy harbor, the present-day Willamette seems more scenic than commerce driven.

The ship is actually one of three vessels in the museum’s collection, which also includes the barge Russel and Mom’s Boat, a gillnetter, but both of those boats are closed to the public.

Stepping aboard the U.S. Portland feels like going back in time. While tugboats still guide larger ships into port, they lack the grace and style of the older style boats like the Portland. This boat is the highlight of the museum and offers a nice setting to dig deeper into Oregon’s maritime past.

One of the great features of the museum is its kid’s corner. It allows children to be hands-on with many of the nautical instruments that were once used to power the Portland. Activities like this can be great if your child tends to get bored at stuffy museums. The library is another wonderful resource, especially for history buffs. Its catalog boasts more than 22,000 photos and 2,000 volumes related to Oregon’s maritime history.

HelloPortland Tip: Make sure that your visit to the museum does not fall during one of the Waterfront’s many summer festivals such as the Rose Festival or Blues Fest. These events make the Waterfront Park very crowded and the museum is consequently hard to reach.

- by William Crane, Portland Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

William Crane

William Crane is an accomplished print and online journalist (http://www.william-crane.com) His work covers a variety of topics including features, local community news, sports, music, and political/social issues. Graduating from Seattle University with a B.A. in Journalism, William's writing has appeared in a variety of different publications including the Stranger, Capitol Hill Times, the Skanner, Backfire Magazine, and the Internationalist.