phone: 503-865-4100
email: parc@portlandoregon.gov
1800 SW 6th Ave, Suite 550, Portland, OR 97201
Exhibits
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Black United Front School Board protest, A2004-005.1864, 1982.
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Woman painting a girder at the shipyard, A2004-002.2249, circa 1945.
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A teacher and young students in a Columbia Villa classroom, A2001-025.47, 1948.
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Nurse demonstrating sterilization equipment at Vanport hospital, A2001-025.694, circa 1944.
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Woman with a Thanksgiving turkey, A2001-025.674, 1944.
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Women posing after interview with KOIN 6 News, 1969.
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Phyllis Sparks in Mayor Schrunk’s office, A2012-005, 1972.
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Mrs. Lovelace and her children Barbara, Sharon, Margaret, Joanne, Audrey, and Pete, 1948.
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Eat Restaurant at 5232 N Lombard Street, A2008-001.21, circa 1931.
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Woman working in City Hall Auditor's microfilm vault, A2005-005.387.12, 1954.
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Women listening to drummers at the Labor Day Happening in Laurelhurst Park, A2000-006.320, 1973.
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Woman at Loyd's Apple and Potato House at 4828 N Lombard Street, A2008-001.16, circa 1930.
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Girls playing on a jungle gym, A2001-025.732, circa 1944.
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Women in a pottery class at Peninsula Park, A2000-025.894, 1935.
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Rita Clinton at the Metropolitan Human Rights Commission (MHRC) office, 2012-005, 1973.
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Interior view of Right-A-Way lunch counter at 1227 SE Powell Blvd, A2008-001.82, 1930.
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Commissioner Connie McCready with an unknown associate, A2012-005, 1972.
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Woman and children at Force Lake, A2001-025.672, circa 1944.
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Women dancing in a parade, A2011-032.30, circa 1913.
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Two unidentified teenage girls, A2010-003.3819, 1964.
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Claire Keller teaching ballet at Peninsula Park, A2001-045.623, 1957.
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Group of Campfire Girls after planting a tree, A2010-003.2288, 1962.
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Miss Indian America, Norma Mae Begay and Miss Indian Northwest, Patricia Umtuch with others, A2012-005, 1971.
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Synchronized swimming, A2001-045.664, circa 1946.
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Women working at the Knight Shoe Co., A2004-002.3671, 1921.
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Female workers making installations at shipyards, A2004-002.2254, circa 1945.
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Marcia Wyland and Joan Muck playing tennis, A2001-045.554, circa 1949.
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Imperials after a meeting at New Hope Church, A2010-003.4574, circa 1968.
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Two women being filmed by KOIN 6 News, A2010-003.4638, circa 1969.
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View of the Louise Hat Shop at 8812 N Lombard Street, A2008-001.12, circa 1931.
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Community group of women and girls meeting in a Columbia Villa social room, A2001-025.52, circa 1948.
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Margaret Lyseng seated at her desk, A2012-005, 1972.
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Woman in Metropolitan Human Rights Commission (MHRC) office, A2012-005, 1973.
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Women working with microfilm, A2005-005.387.10, 1954.
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Large group of women rehearsing at Peninsula Park for recreational program, A2000-025.891, 1935.
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Irene Cranford and colleagues at her retirement party, A2011-006.12547, 1976.
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Archives and Records Management staff in the stacks, 2012-30, 1979.
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Women in a rowboat in Vanport floodwaters on SE Water Avenue, A2004-002.7239, 1948.
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Three women at the Lotus Island-Faloma streetcar station, A2008-001.56, 1932.
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Unidentified women at Neighborhood Development Program (NDP) meeting, A2010-003.8464, 1971.
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The Rose Court, A2000-018.12, 1980.
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Lillie Florence standing in front of Western Saving and Loans after receiving the first home improvement loan in the Albina Neighborhood Improvement Project area on October 15, 1964, A2010-003.2503, 1964.
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Female worker welding on deck of ship at shipyards, A2004-002.2255, circa 1945.
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Lila Andrews and Shirley Floyd biking through Grant Park, A2001-045.676, circa 1955.
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Woman with children, A2010-003.3822, 1964.
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Swan Island shipyard workers accept the Tanker Champ flag awarded them for the highest production of tankers per way, A2004-002.2248, circa 1943.
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Nurse preparing equipment in surgery room, A2001-025.700, circa 1944.
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Two women and a baby in Unthank Park, A2010-003.6041,1971.
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Women folding bandages for Red Cross, A2001-025.720, circa 1944.
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Betty Turner up to bat at a women's softball game, A2001-045.553, circa 1949.
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Two women on the upper balcony of the Forestry Building, A2001-030.2732, circa 1905.
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Adult sewing class at Boise-Eliot School, A2010-003.4547, 1968.
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Women posing for a photo at the Neighborhood Development Program (NDP) Woodlawn office opening, A2010-003.7885, 1970.
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Women working at New System Laundry, A2004-002.11084, circa 1935.
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Horace Hatch and Rosalie Lamb of Vancouver shipyards accept the "M" flag from Admiral Vickery on behalf of the workers, A2004-002.2259, circa 1945.
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People exiting a church bus for block 33 clean up event, A2010-003.2479, 1963.
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Bathing beauties at Pier Park pool, A2001-045.666, 1941.
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Two women pose for photo in playground area at Unthank Park, A2010-003.6025, 1971.
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Dance instructor leading a modern dance class for children, A2001-030.2539, circa 1950.
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Melissa Red Hawk Chapman Parr, Rosaline Kanine, Rose Badroads, and Margaret Sheoship exiting a plane with others, A2005-005.261.551, circa 1933.
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Women doing push-ups during an exercise class, A2001-045.560, circa 1955.
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Mrs. Earl Riley on a camping trip, A2005-005.261.687, 1948.
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Women dressed for an event, A2005-005.261.499, circa 1950.
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Two women working behind the counter of the cleaners at 838 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd., A2008-001.43, circa 1931.
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Women and Girls in the snow in SW Portland, A2004-002.1087, circa 1890.
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Two women sitting on field in Unthank Park, A2010-003.5939, 1971.
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Gale Perlas, A2001-022.133 , 1973.
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Multnomah County Commissioners Pauline Anderson, Caroline Miller, Gretchen Miller-Kafoury, Polly Casterline and Gladys McCoy, A2017-005, 1988.
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Norma Trimble and an unidentified woman at the 1995 Metropolitan Human Relations Commission (MHRC) awards dinner, A2001-022.175, 1995.
2020 marks the 100-year anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, giving women throughout the U.S. the constitutional right to vote. Oregon’s women gained that right eight years earlier in 1912. Women’s suffrage was voted on five times in Oregon before it passed the sixth and final time. *
To celebrate the ratification of the federal amendment, the City of Portland Archives is highlighting Women in Portland. We are focusing on ten women who have worked for the City or in the larger Portland community. Some are well known and others unseen by history, but all have contributed to the story of Portland. We found many images of women in our collection that remain largely nameless and we have included them too as a backdrop to our exhibit.
Researching the life of any individual can be a challenging process, however researching the lives of women can be even more difficult. Legal and social practices have served to erase or hide women from history, from adopting the social norm of being known by their husband’s first and last name (Mrs. Joseph Crane) to working in support positions without power or recognition like secretaries, childcare providers, factory workers and cooks. Women’s stories are often fragmented, and their work overlooked or claimed by men. To make matters worse, the records then deemed historically significant and therefore preserved most often tell the story of white men, while the stories of women and communities of color are most often disregarded. Archivists, activists, and historians have begun working to find, elevate, and preserve the stories of women and communities of color; however, researching women, especially women of color, remains a challenge.
This exhibit features ten women who represent the important and diverse roles women played in Portland’s past. For some of these women we have extensive records. For others, their story has been patched together from pieces of information in documents, photographs and newspaper accounts. All of them have some connection to the City of Portland, whether they worked for the City, were surveilled by the police, were part of an urban renewal committee, or simply active in their community. These women’s stories are stories of Portland. As an archives, we want to shine a light on them to actively start to fill in the gaps of history.