Pittock Mansion Society

TO INSPIRE UNDERSTANDING AND STEWARDSHIP OF PORTLAND HISTORY THROUGH PITTOCK MANSION, ITS COLLECTIONS, AND PROGRAMS

REBUILDING THE STAFF TEAM AND REALIGNING INSTITUTIONAL GOALS AND PROGRAMS TO SERVE AS A RELEVANT MUSEUM. REBUILDING STAFF TEAM: PITTOCK MANSION SOCIETY STARTED REBUILDING ITS STAFF TEAM THAT HAD MAINLY BEEN LAID OFF DURING THE PANDEMIC TO START WELCOMING VISITORS BACK TO THE MUSEUM. THE MUSEUM NOT ONLY ONBOARDED NEW VISITOR SERVICE STAFF BUT ALSO CONDUCTED SPECIFIC VISITOR INTERACTION TRAINING PER COVID PROTOCOLS. SEVERAL KEY LEADERSHIP POSITIONS WERE FILLED DURING THIS PERIOD INCLUDING HIRING A NEW DIRECTOR OF INTERPRETATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN NOVEMBER 2021 AND A NEW CEO IN MAY 2022. DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD PITTOCK MANSION WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC FOR APPROXIMATELY 22,000 HOURS, WHICH IS SIGNIFICANTLY MORE THAN THE PRIOR YEAR, IN WHICH WE WERE CLOSED THE MAJORITY OF THE TIME DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. FOR THE MONTHS OF JUNE, JULY AND AUGUST WE WERE OPEN FIVE DAYS PER WEEK AND RESUMED A SEVEN DAY PER WEEK OPENING IN SEPTEMBER. DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD WE WELCOMED 80,442 VISITORS, UP FROM 28,015 THE PRIOR FISCAL YEAR. WE DID HAVE SOME EXPECTED DAYS OF CLOSURE RELATED TO ADVERSE WEATHER AND USUAL JANUARY MAINTENANCE DAYS. IN ALL WE WERE CLOSED 45 DAYS DURING THE FISCAL YEAR. REALIGNMENT OF EXHIBITS AND PUBLIC PROGRAMS: FOLLOWING THE PANDEMIC AND THE RACIAL UNREST IN PORTLAND, THE BOARD CONDUCTED SOME STRATEGIC RETHINKING AND REALIGNMENT OF PITTOCK MANSION'S COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES WHICH RESULTED IN A NEW DEPARTMENT OF INTERPRETATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. THE SOCIETY COMMITTED TO START TELLING STORIES OF MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES THROUGH ITS EXHIBITS AND PROGRAMMING. THIS WAS A PIVOTAL STEP FOR THE ORGANIZATION TOWARDS BECOMING A MORE RELEVANT HISTORY MUSEUM. DURING THE FISCAL YEAR WE HOSTED THREE SPECIAL EXHIBITS: VANPORT: A SURGE OF SOCIAL CHANGE: FROM MARCH 2021 - NOVEMBER 2021; PITTOCK MANSION CHRISTMAS: NOV 2021 - JANUARY 2022; AND MAZAMAS THRILL OF THE CLIMB: MARCH 2022 - JULY 2022. DURING THE "VANPORT: A SURGE OF SOCIAL CHANGE" EXHIBIT, WHICH DETAILS THE HISTORY AND SOCIAL INJUSTICES RELATED TO AN HISTORIC FLOOD OF THE TOWN OF VANPORT IN 1948, AND THE LASTING IMPACTS OF THAT EVENT TODAY, WE WELCOMED A TOTAL OF 35,124 GUESTS. THIS EXHIBIT WAS DEVELOPED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH A LOCAL NON-PROFIT, VANPORT MOSAIC. DURING OUR ANNUAL PITTOCK MANSION CHRISTMAS EVENT, IN WHICH WE DECORATE THE MANSION IN A WINTER HOLIDAY THEME, WE WELCOMED 13,524 VISITORS IN ADDITION TO 497 SUPPORTERS THAT ATTENDED OUR EXHIBIT PREVIEW DAY ON NOVEMBER 21, 2021. PITTOCK MANSION CHRISTMAS HAS BEEN A LEGACY PROGRAM SINCE THE 1960S AND MORE THAN 70 COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS DECORATE THE MANSION FOR THE PUBLIC'S ENJOYMENT. NOTE THAT CHRISTMAS IN FY21 WAS CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS AND CLOSURE. DURING OUR MAZAMAS - THRILL OF THE CLIMB EXHIBIT WE WELCOMED 26,229 VISITORS FROM MARCH 1 2022 TO JUNE 30 2022. THIS EXHIBIT WAS DEVELOPED IN COLLABORATION WITH THE MAZAMAS, A MOUNTAINEERING FOCUSED NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION, AND EXPLORED THE EARLY EVOLUTION OF MOUNTAINEERING IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. DURING THIS PERIOD, WE ALSO PLANNED FOR OUR NEXT EXHIBIT, BLACK IN OREGON: 1840 - 1870, WHICH OPENED THE FOLLOWING FISCAL YEAR. THIS EXHIBITION WAS ANOTHER PARADIGM CHANGING EFFORT AND LED TO A NEW COMMUNITY COLLABORATION WITH THE OREGON BLACK PIONEERS FOR THE FIRST TIME. REBUILDING MEMBERSHIP: AFTER CLOSURE DUE TO THE COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS PITTOCK MANSION'S MEMBERSHIP NUMBERS HAD DROPPED SIGNIFICANTLY, AND THIS WAS A YEAR OF REBUILDING OUR MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM TO SUPPORT OVERALL MUSEUM ACTIVITIES AND ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY. DURING THE FISCAL YEAR WE HAD 428 MEMBERS (2 CORPORATE, 4 LIBRARY AND 422 INDIVIDUAL), WHICH IS AN INCREASE OF 70 OVER THE PRIOR YEAR. TO ASSIST WITH THIS REBUILDING EFFORT WE HIRED A TEMPORARY, PART TIME DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR IN SEPTEMBER 21, 2021 CONVERTING THAT POSITION TO A FULL-TIME COORDINATOR IN MARCH 2022. DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD WE ALSO HELD ONE CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP EVENT.

CONTINUING WITH PRESERVATION AND COLLECTIONS CARE ACTIVITIES. DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD THE CITY OF PORTLAND, OWNER OF THE PITTOCK MANSION, IN COLLABORATION WITH PITTOCK MANSION SOCIETY PERFORMED TWO SIGNIFICANT BUILDING PRESERVATION ACTIVITIES. FIRST, THEY RESTORED THE WALLS OF A BEDROOM THAT HAD BEEN DAMAGED DUE TO A WATER LEAK, AND SECOND, THEY REPLACED THE THRESHOLD OF A DOORWAY THAT WAS LEAKING, ALLOWING WATER INTRUSION DURING HEAVY RAIN EVENTS. IN ADDITION TO THESE SIGNIFICANT PRESERVATION ACTIVITIES, THE SOCIETY AND THE CITY CONTINUED WITH REGULAR MAINTENANCE OF THE HISTORIC BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS. THE SOCIETY, EVEN WITH MINIMAL STAFF CONTINUED TO TAKE CARE OF ITS COLLECTION OF ARTIFACTS WHICH ARE ON DISPLAY IN THE MANSION AS WELL AS IN THE STORAGE WITH REGULAR CLEANING OF ALL THE ARTIFACTS ON DISPLAY, CONDITION MONITORING AND NECESSARY MITIGATION OF ARTIFACTS IN STORAGE AND DATABASE MAINTENANCE.