Portland Children's Museum records, 1946-2019

The Portland Children's Museum in Portland, Oregon, was founded in 1946 by Portland Parks Commissioner Dorothea Lensch. Until 1970 it was known as the Junior Museum. Although the museum was originally located in the former residence of Jacob Kamm at NW Main and 14th, it moved to SW 2nd Avenue in the Lair Hill neighborhood in 1950. In 2001, the museum relocated once again, this time to a building in Washington Park formerly used by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. For the first few years after the move to Washington Park, the museum rebranded itself as Children's Museum 2nd Generation, or CM2, but in 2004 the name officially changed to Portland Children's Museum. The museum at Washington Park was also the location of Opal School, a pre-kindergarten to fifth grade charter school. Citing financial difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the museum and school closed in June 2021.