ABOUT
THE
MUSEUM OF THE CITY
The Museum of the City (MotC) was conceived in 2001 and incorporated in
2003 in Portland, Oregon, with the mission of exploring and explaining
the story of visioning, designing, and planning cities — across time and
around the world. Its interests encompass the innovative ideas and
effective approaches to shaping cities’ futures. The Museum’s directors
believe that the better citizens understand the history, architecture,
design, and planning of cities, the better they will be able to
participate in creating and sustaining their collective futures.
The MotC’s
focus is not on the story, artifacts, and documents of a single city
but, rather, on providing learning experiences about the development and
design of cities worldwide. Its objectives are to engage the public in
cities themselves, to provide the means and knowledge—through public
programs and exhibits—with which the public might learn about the past
and the future of cities. By sharing exemplary historical
and contemporary practices and approaches to creating cities, the Museum
and its partners—museums of cities worldwide, architects, designers, and
planners—act as curators of the story and practice of urban design.
The MotC
is administered by a volunteer director, Chet Orloff, founder and
president. Director Emeritus of the Oregon Historical Society and an
adjunct professor of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State
University. Orloff is a teacher, exhibit designer, and historian. The
Museum of the City’s board of directors is composed of individuals
recognized nationally and internationally in their respective fields.
Founding board members:
Jane Jacobs,
Author and Economist (deceased)
Chet Orloff, Historian, Museum President, Portland State
University
Donald Stastny, FAIA, FAICP, StastnyBrun Architects
Paddy Tillett, RIBA, FAIA, FAICP, Architect and Urban
Designer,
Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects
Dr. Nohad Toulan, Ph.D., Founding Dean Emeritus,
College of Urban
and Public Affairs, Portland State University
Karen Whitman, Civic Organizer and Planner
