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City of Portland celebrates 150th



Focus on History in Money's "Best Big City" - Portland, Oregon

The City of Portland, Oregon, is celebrating its 150th anniversary of
incorporation (1851-2001) with a focus on history and archives.  The 150th
birthday web site www.portland150.org features a History Timeline, a
chronicle of events and actions in the history of city government and the
Portland community. It includes milestones of City programs; events that
shaped the growth and development of the City; people and organizations
which have served citizens; and events such as wars, fires, and floods that
have affected life in Portland.  Photographs and images of historical
documents are included.

Collaborative work on the timeline has stimulated an unusual level of
interest in the history of the city which is expected to continue and expand
as agencies add history pages to their own web sites. The Timeline links to
these web sites where more detailed information can be found concerning
specific city functions.

In her Birthday Message to the City, Mayor Vera Katz, emphasizes the value
of history for the future:

                Since the day the City of Portland officially became a city,
February 8, 1851, we have seen many milestones - some good, some bad, but
all historic. Over the next year, it is my hope to stimulate a discussion of
Portland's past, its present, and our hopes for its future. For they say the
"past is prologue," and with honest scrutiny of our ancestors and the city
they built, I believe we will come to a clearer understanding of how we must
proceed to pave the way for a finer Portland of tomorrow.

Many of the milestone events in the Timeline were identified by consulting
the records and sources available at the City of Portland Stanley Parr
Archives and Records Center (SPARC), under the responsibility of the
Auditor's Office. Requests for information and suggestions for changes to
the Timeline may be addressed to SPARC@ci.portland.or.us
<mailto:SPARC@ci.portland.or.us>.

In addition to the City's birthday, the Archives and Records Management
program celebrates two milestones of their own. Twenty-five years ago in
1976, Stanley Parr was hired by the City of Portland as the first records
management officer. With the assistance of an NHPRC grant, the archives was
established, leading to the publication of the City of Portland Archives
Guide.  The Archives and Records Center, later named for the late Stan Parr,
opened in 1981 and celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2001.



Diana Banning
City Archivist
Recorder's Division
Office of the City Auditor
City of Portland, Oregon
dbanning@ci.portland.or.us
503-823-4564

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