Join the Archives & Records Management Division in celebration of American Archives Month at Building Bridges: A City Archives Open House, on October 12th, 2024, from 2:00 – 5:00 pm where you’ll learn about the City’s vast collection of Portland history!
This free, public event will feature a variety of activities:
- a family archives digitization station
- oral history booth
- trivia games
- demonstrations using the online database, Efiles
- interactions with archival materials
- special guest speakers from Albina Music Trust at 3:30 pm (see below for details)
- behind-the-scenes archives tours will be held at 3:00 pm and 4:15 pm.
- engagement opportunities with other community organizations: Don’t Shoot PDX, Oregon Queer History Collective, and Vanport Mosaic (see below for details)
Attending the event
The event is free to attend and open to the public.
It will be held at the Portland Archives & Records Center, 1800 SW 6th Avenue, Suite 550. Enter from the door off the Urban Plaza on Portland State University’s campus, between SW 5th and 6th Avenue near SW Montgomery Street.
Drop in any time between 2:00 and 5:00 pm. No registration is required.
Accommodations
Please reach out to parc@portlandoregon.gov for any accessibility accommodations.
Speakers from Albina Music Trust
Featured speakers from the Albina Music Trust will discuss their community archive dedicated to the restoration of a Black community’s historic musical culture that amplifies the legacy of Albina’s musician community.
Catch Albina Music Trust at 3:30 pm!
Paul Knauls, Sr., affectionately known as “The Mayor of Albina,” has a legacy that is difficult to sum up. An entrepreneur, raconteur, trailblazer, avid skier, and soul music aficionado, at 93 years old, Knauls continues to inspire and strengthen bonds in communities throughout the Portland metropolitan area. After an honorable discharge from the United States Air Force, Knauls came to Oregon in the 1960s and launched the now legendary Cotton Club. Known for its “Wall to Wall Soul,” the Cotton Club and its successor, Geneva’s, served as important gathering spaces for Portland’s Black community.
Norman Sylvester hails from the farmlands of Louisiana. Known to many as “The Boogie Cat,” Sylvester began performing the blues in Portland in the late 1950s. He has shared bills with countless legends such as BB King, Buddy Guy, Mavis Staples, and more. A devoted local music historian, Sylvester has been the recipient of the Oregon Music Hall of Fame’s Lifetime Achievement Award as well as induction to the Oregon Music Hall Of Fame. He currently leads the Norman Sylvester Band, a legendary blues unit that has been active for over 40 years.
Bobby Smith is the Executive Director of the Albina Music Trust. In collaboration with Albina’s musicians, he has served in a variety of preservation-based roles in Albina’s African-American community including: archivist, event producer, journalist, radio host, vinyl album producer, art director, and development director. Smith’s efforts to facilitate storytelling and media preservation have supported the development of the Albina Community Archive – a unique contribution to Oregon’s arts and culture legacy.
Other special community partners
Building Bridges will also feature the following Portland community organizations:
- Don’t Shoot PDX is an arts and education organization that promotes social justice and civic participation. Don’t Shoot Portland has hosted its own dialogues, community forums and workshops focusing on history, archiving and social culture. The art proponent of our work acts as a communicative tool to facilitate discussions about race in America while providing educational assets to those most affected by discrimination in public policy.
- Oregon Queer History Collective (formerly GLAPN) has been serving the greater public interest in advancing the visibility of queer cultural history in Oregon and Pacific Northwest for over 30 years.
- Vanport Mosaic is a memory-activism platform. We amplify, honor, and preserve the silenced histories that surround us in order to understand our present, and create a future where we all belong.
Jump to city Page https://www.portland.gov/auditor/events/2024/10/12/building-bridges-city-archives-open-house?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery