In case you missed it, we’re gearing up to debut three new recurring walking tours of downtown Portland next week. The tours, a departure from our previous one-time-only trips, offer weekly opportunities to learn more about the city, reaching the casual visitor, recent transplant and resident alike.
This series is comprised of three distinct, Portland-centric tours led by community leaders and experts with first-hand knowledge. All include the “untold” histories of Portland with contemporary significance, and offer a fun and interactive way to learn about the city and its people.
Tours consist of:
1) Hidden Portland: City Treasures! with Carye Bye
What if the City was a Museum? Hidden Portland: City Treasures! attempts to answer this question by allowing tour goers to discover and appreciate the often unnoticed parts of the city. Led by author, artist and self-described “Museum Lady of Portland” Carye Bye, the tour shows how public art, museums, buildings and architectural features can encourage seeing the Rose City with new eyes and experiences.
2) Old Town/ Chinatown with Reiko Hillyer
While today Portland is known as one of the whitest cities in the U.S., its multicultural and immigrant history is rich and storied. Old Town/ Chinatown shows the challenges faced by Portland’s ethnic communities, as well as their many contributions to the city’s economy, industry and culture. Hillyer is a professor of Urban History and African American History at Lewis & Clark College.
3) Seedy, Seamy & Sinful Portland with Doug Kenck-Crispin
Join resident historian of Kick Ass Oregon History Doug, as we visit sites of famous saloons and bordellos, opium dens and card rooms, some of which are still in operation today. The tour will “end” outside of Mary’s Club, one of Portland’s most venerated strip clubs. (*This tour is best suited for those 21+)
For more info see our events page. Keep an eye out: more info and updates (including preview videos to be posted in the coming days).
