121 NW 2nd Ave, Portland, OR 97209
(503) 224-1458

Exhibit hours:
Tuesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Sunday, noon to 3 p.m.

Welcome to the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center, a Japanese American history museum and center located in Portland's Old Town, where Japantown once thrived.

Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center is a focal point for the preservation and sharing of the history and culture of the Japanese American community. ONLC opened the doors to its new home in September, 2004. The museum now has a larger exhibit space, with exhibits that highlight Issei immigration and early life in Oregon, Nihonmachi (Japantown), and life after Executive Order 9066, including the Portland Assembly Center and contemporary Nikkei life. (photo courtesy Rich Iwasaki, 2004).

Museum hours are Tuesday - Saturday, 11 AM to 3 PM, Sunday noon to 3 PM. Admission is $3 for general public, free for Friends of the Legacy Center. Group tours, speaking engagements, and research appointments are available. To schedule or for more information, call 503-224-1458.

ONLC is located in the Merchant Hotel building built 1880-1885, and is of historical interest, being located in the oldest part of Portland in the heart of what was once Portland's Japantown (Nihonmachi) until World War Two. The building housed a laundry, bathhouse and barbershop run by Japanese families in the early years.

The Center has expanded storage for archives and historical artifacts, a community room for public meetings and programs, and an improved library. The new location has been made possible through the generosity of Naito Corporation, community contributors, corporate and business donors, and foundation grants. We invite you to visit us soon.

Events and Programs

Retirement Reception
Friday, July 11, 3:30 – 5:00 p.m. at ONLC

Please join us for a special reception to honor June Arima Schumann, founding Executive Director of ONLC, and to say farewell and thank you for her years of dedication and service to the Oregon Nikkei Endowment.
 

Oregon Reads 2009

Stubborn Twig has been chosen as the featured book for Oregon Reads 2009, a statewide community reading project that will take place in nearly every public library in every county in Oregon next year. Stubborn Twig tells the story of one Japanese American family's century-long struggle to adjust, endure and ultimately triumph, spanning across Hood River, Portland, and Eugene. Bat 6, about a girls’ baseball game in post-WWII Oregon, by Virginia Euwer Wolff has also been selected for younger readers for the Oregon Sesquicentennial. Available for purchase at the Legacy Center and in our online gift shop.
 

Nikkei Farmers of the Hood River Area
A new online exhibit about the Nikkei community in Hood River and surrounding areas, based on the Legacy Center's 2007 exhibition "Window on a Community." Created by ONLC through Discover Nikkei, one of the world's largest sources for Nikkei-related databases, history, and culture.
 

Current Exhibit:

Go For Broke: Photographs by Motoya Nakamura
May 9 - August 31, 2008

To honor and pay tribute to Oregon Nisei Veterans, Motoya Nakamura, a photographer for The Oregonian, created five special portraits of 442nd RCT veterans John Murakami, Roy Maeda, Joe Onchi, Art Iwasaki, and Kazuo Fujii for the article "Fighting Prejudice on Two Fronts" (Living, Sunday, November 7, 2004). Please join us for an exhibition of these important and artistic photographs. Motoya’s vision and masterful technique created memorable works of art that honor and pay respect to these, and all, of Oregon’s Nisei veterans. Accompanying the exhibit will be special artifacts from the ONLC collection. (photo: John Murakami © Motoya Nakamura/The Oregonian)

The exhibit, located in the community room, is included with regular museum admission ($3; free for Friends of the Legacy Center). Exhibit hours are Tues – Sat 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sun 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Group visits are welcome by appointment. Please call ONLC at 503-224-1458 for more information.
 

Become a Subscriber:

Friends of the Legacy Center
Your support will help to ensure that the history, art and culture of the Nikkei are preserved and shared with the community for generations to come.

Annual subscribers to ONLC receive free admission all year long, a subscription to our newsletter, invitations to openings and other special events, and 10% off all purchases in the gift shop. Additionally, our neighbors at The Monkey & the Rat are now offering a 5% discount in their shop for all Friends of the Legacy Center.

To get involved in these activities, please contact ONLC:

Phone: 503-224-1458