Inside Scoop

The City of Roses is a blast of entertainment and arts year-round. But when the air grows damp, travelers can tap into its dynamite array of indoor destinations, from museums and aquatic parks to theaterpubs and regional cooking schools.

The Portland Art Museum (PAM) is the Pacific Northwest’s oldest museum. Located on downtown’s South Park Blocks is 81,000 square feet of gallery space that houses more than 32,000 works. This collection features a wide range of Northwestern and Native American art, as well as pieces from such masters as Paul Cézanne and Claude Monet and contemporary artists including Frank Stella and Theo van Doesburg. And PAM is host to several upcoming exhibits that you don’t want to miss, including the much-anticipated People of the River: Native Arts of the Oregon Territory, which opens in January 2005 to help commemorate the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial of Oregon.

Just across the street is the Oregon Historical Society, which transports guests through Pacific Northwest time via 2 million photographic images that capture the region’s social and commercial development. This collection of historical photographs—one of the largest in the United States—weaves a visual tapestry of Oregon’s places and events. Equally fascinating is the complementary scope of 85,000 artifacts.

If you’ve got some energy to expend, check out the Portland Rock Gym, in northeast. This modular indoor rock gym is the first of its kind in the world, and features a mix of rope climbing, bouldering, top-route ropes (up to 38 feet) and an overhanging lead wall, making it a must-stop for climbers of any level and age.

If low-key is more your vibe, check out a Portland pastime of the most authentic kind. The city has a selection of theater pubs—Bagdad, Mission, Kennedy School, St. Johns Dome—that invite you to kick back on a couch or easy chair, gnaw on some pizza and watch a cult-classic or second-run flick with microbrew, wine or freshly roasted coffee in hand. Each theater pub is housed in a historic building of ornate architecture that teems with early 1900s charm. The Bagdad in the Southeast Portland’s Hawthorne neighborhood was built in 1927 and was once an iconic venue for vaudeville shows, while St. Johns Pub in north Portland has been around since 1905, when it was built as an exhibit hall for the Lewis and Clark centennial exposition.

Another laid-back option is to take part in Portland’s surging food scene by signing up for a hands-on cooking class at In Good Taste Cooking School, located in the hip Pearl District. Here, well-known chefs lead you in preparing multi-course meals—often featuring such regional fare as oysters, root vegetables, lamb—that are expertly paired with wines from Oregon’s finest vineyards.

With so many choices for indoor amusement, it’s no sweat switching gears from the grown-up world of gourmet food to one of highly charged family fun. For Portland sightseeing of the young-hearted kind, the Children’s Museum 2nd Generation (CM2) and Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) provide hands-on opportunities to explore.

CM2’s vibrant displays and multi-sensory play areas stir the imagination. The exhibits, which splash, squish, bounce, honk—even flip—are geared to the under-12 crowd, but everyone’s invited to play. And on the other side of the parking lot sits the Oregon Zoo, home to North America’s most successful Asian elephant breeding program.

Another destination sure to inspire childhood wonder is OMSI, a multi-attraction complex that showcases hundreds of interactive science and educational exhibits and is located across the Willamette River from downtown. Every crevice encourages families to touch, think, feel and experience the deeper worlds inhabited by animals, plants, astronomy and technology. Also on-site are an OMNIMAX® Theater, the region’s largest planetarium, and the USS Blueback, a retired U.S. Naval diesel-powered submarine. The 1959 sub, which is open for tours (and was featured in the film Hunt for Red October), is moored along the banks of the Willamette River, just behind OMSI. From its rivers to its reputation for abundant rain, Portland is known for water. But the Clackamas County Aquatic Park takes the meaning of stepping into liquid to a whole new level. Pack a swimsuit, because 40,000 heated gallons of year-round aqua-fun awaits you. This popular indoor destination has it all: three-story slides, a wave pool, high dives, a kiddie pool, and an adults-only hot tub.

If staying dry is more your preference, you’ll have no problem finding something fabulous to do in the City of Roses. In the Northwest we pride ourselves on the amazing splendor of never-ending beauty, rich cultural texture, and above all, the endless opportunities—both indoors and out—to explore.