Support your Local Historical Group!

NOTE: The MHA Mary Lyman Becker History Center Will be Closed Until January 12, 2012

The collections of the Multnomah Village Historical Association are housed in the Mary Lyman Becker History Center at 2929 SW Multnomah Blvd. The History Center is open by appointment. For more information our collections of photographs and artifacts see the collections page.

We have recently loaded over 200 photos from the collection of the late Ed Colvin, longtime owner of Ed's Camera Corner, including over 150 historic photos of Multnomah. Click here to see them.

The Multnomah Historical Association

The purpose of the Multnomah Historical Association is "To collect, preserve, to exhibit, to publish material of a historical character and to develop community wide interest in the growth and development of the Southwest neighborhoods of Portland, Oregon."

Created by parents after the 1979 closure of the Multnomah elementary school, the Multnomah Historical Association continues it's mission of preserving the buildings, history, stories, photos, and memorabilia of our community.

Due in part to the efforts of the association, Multnomah School went on to become the Multnomah Center, now operated by Portland Parks & Recreation, it continues to serve as a common place for our community to meet, learn, and play.

Over the years the association has sponsored special events, published materials, gathered oral histories, developed a historic library collection, and served as a resource for historical information. Large events have included the celebration of the World War II Memorial Rock in 1996, hosting the 2001 Multnomah School reunion, and the 2008 Multnomah Centennial Celebration.

Multnomah Historical meetings are open to the public and take place on the 1st Monday of the month at 7pm in the first floor conference room at 2929 SW Multnomah Blvd. Visitors are welcome and encouraged.

Donations to the Multnomah Historical Association are tax exempt under chapter 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Multnomah History

The neighborhood began as a land claim of Thomas and Polly-Anne Tice, and through the 1800's the area remained a densely wooded area, unnamed and home to only a few residents. The community of Multnomah developed in the 1910s around a depot of the Oregon Electric Railway of the same name. In 1910, H.L.Gilbert consolidated the majority of the current business district (including the existing Home Addition) into the Wildwood Subdivision. At this point, the site was bounded by the same physical streets, but their names were: Fulton Boulevard, Farewell Street and Gordon Avenue. The neighborhood continued to grow and was eventually annexed to Portland over an 8-year period beginning in 1954.

For more detailed information on the history of Multnomah and Southwest Portland, see the publications page.