[Heritage] Oregon Heritage News 2012-07-23

[Heritage Info]

In this Issue:
1. Take a Peek Underground at Champoeg
2. IMLS Funds Projects of Two Oregon Museums
3. Albany to Hold 35th Annual Tour of Historic Homes
4. Portland’s Steel Bridge Celebrates 100th Year
 
 
TAKE A PEEK UNDERGROUND AT CHAMPOEG
 
Oregon State University Anthropology Professor David Brauner and his
students will continue the archaeology dig at Champoeg State Historic
Area this summer. Visitors to the park can participate in guided tours
beginning at 10 a.m., July 23 - Aug. 13 on Mondays, Wednesdays and
Fridays. The tours begin in the Riverside Day use parking area near the
Pioneer Mothers Cabin. 
 
This is Brauner’s fifth excavation of the town site since 2002.
Settlers formed Oregon’s first provisional government on this site in an
historic vote on May 2, 1843. The town site includes the former home of
Robert Newell, chief promoter of the town of Champoeg, and speaker of
the Provisional Legislature after the 1843 vote. According to Brauner,
the Newell Site has the most intact pre-1855 domestic structure and
associated artifacts in the Willamette Valley. 
 
For further information, visit
http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_113.php . 
 
 
IMLS FUNDS PROJECTS OF TWO OREGON MUSEUMS
 
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) recently announced
152 awards totaling $18,113,376 matched with $34,666,759 of non-federal
funds for Museums for America Program Grants. Those awarded funding
include two Oregon museums: the High Desert Museum in Bend and the
Portland Art Museum, Portland. This year, funded projects reflect the
wide array of museum types across the country. In every case IMLS funds
support initiatives that advance an institution’s strategic plan for the
benefit of the community it serves. 
 
The High Desert Museum received funds to develop a collecting plan to
improve its ability to collect strategically and proactively and to
support its mission to educate visitors about the environment, culture,
and history of the High Desert region. A Project Committee comprised of
museum staff, trustees, advisors, and a consultant will assess strengths
and weaknesses of the museum’s current collections, identify a clear
collecting mission tied directly to the institutional mission and
strategic plan, and establish criteria to guide future accessioning and
deaccessioning in support of that mission. The collecting plan will
increase the museum’s capacity to care for its collections with current
resources and enhance its ability to interpret the High Desert for
visitors through collections-based exhibits and programs.
 
The Portland Art Museum (PAM) will use its award to digitize and
provide online accessibility to its collection of 8,000 works of Native
American art for the benefit of scholars, students, and the general
public. With objects dating from pre-European contact to the present,
PAM’s collection features important works from nearly every tribal group
in North America, with especially strong representation of tribes from
the Northwest Coastal region. Records will include high-quality images
and authoritative metadata, as well as interactive features such as
dynamic gallery views and links to related public programming,
interviews, lectures, and interpretive texts. In addition to sharing
images and authoritative information on its website, the museum will
publish the collection to federated resources and leading scholarly
databases including ARTstor.
 
IMLS is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000
libraries and 17,500 museums. Through grant making, policy development,
and research, it helps communities and individuals thrive through broad
public access to knowledge, cultural heritage, and lifelong learning. To
learn more about IMLS, visit www.imls.gov ( http://www.imls.gov/ ) . 
 
 
ALBANY TO HOLD 35TH ANNUAL TOUR OF HISTORIC HOMES
 
Albany’s 35th Annual Tour of Historic Homes will take place from 11
a.m. – 5 p.m., July 28. This year’s tour features six historic homes,
two churches and three museums. The United Presbyterian Church will be
open in celebration of its 100th year. The tour is self-guided and many
of the homes and buildings are within walking distance of each other.
Other activities include trolley and horse-drawn wagon rides.
 
For additional information, contact Albany Visitors Association, (541)
928-0911 or albanytour at gmail.com or visit www.albanyvisitors.com (
http://www.albanyvisitors.com/ ) .
 
 
PORTLAND’S STEEL BRIDGE CELEBRATES 100TH YEAR
 
The Pacific Northwest Chapter of the National Railway Historical
Society is honoring the 100th birthday of the Portland’s Steel Bridge
with the publication of "Steel Over the Willamette", a 60-page book
filled with illustrations, photographs and history of the structure. 
 
Built by the Union Pacific Railroad and the Oregon Railway and
Navigation Company, the Steel Bridge replaced the original double-deck
swing-span bridge built in 1888, which served as the first railroad
bridge to cross the Willamette River in Portland. The new bridge cost
$1.7 to build. It opened to rail traffic in July 1912 and to automobiles
a month later. Street cars crossed the bridge until 1948, discontinued
due to bus use, then returned as MAX Light Rail in 1986. 
 
The Steel Bridge is the only bridge in the world with dual vertical
lift capability still in operation. Equipped with independent lifts, the
lower deck raises to 72 feet, telescoping into the upper deck but not
disturbing it. It features a lift span of 211 feet and, when raising
both decks, provides 163 feet of verticalclearance. 
 
For more information about the book, visit www.pnwc-nrhs.ort (
http://www.pnwc-nrhs.ort/ ), email steelbridge at pnwc-nrhs.org or call
(503) 351-9881. 
 


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