Portland Art Museum

The Portland Art Museum reopened on November 20, 2025, after the biggest transformation in its history, and it is now one of the most rewarding museum visits in the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1892, the oldest art museum in the region, it sits on the South Park Blocks downtown across two buildings — the original Pietro Belluschi-designed main building and the former Masonic temple next door — that for decades were awkwardly connected through a basement. The new Mark Rothko Pavilion, a nearly 22,000-square-foot glass link named for the painter who grew up in Portland, now joins them above ground, serves as a transparent front door on the Park Blocks, and anchors a campus with nearly 100,000 square feet of new or upgraded public and gallery space. The galleries were fully reinstalled, with displays organized by theme rather than strictly by period and nearly 300 major new acquisitions, including works by Marie Watt, Simone Leigh, Hiroshi Sugimoto and Carrie Mae Weems. Highlights of the permanent collection include a strong holding of Native American art, Asian art, European paintings, modern and contemporary art, and an important photography collection. Coquelico Café offers lunch and coffee inside. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 10am to 5pm, with later hours on Free First Thursdays, when admission is free all day. Adult admission is at the higher end for Portland, but children and teens 17 and under are always free, and discounts are available for seniors, students and military.

Rothko's connection to Portland is part of the story. Born Marcus Rothkowitz in present-day Latvia, he emigrated with his family to Portland as a boy in 1913, attended Lincoln High School, and later had one of his earliest exhibitions at this museum. Naming the pavilion for him ties the new building to that history. The expansion also brought new visitor amenities, better accessibility between buildings and a more welcoming relationship with the leafy South Park Blocks outside.

How to visit: allow two to three hours. Start in the Rothko Pavilion for orientation, then choose a wing: the Native American and Northwest art galleries are among the museum's most distinctive collections; the reinstalled modern and contemporary galleries show off the new acquisitions; and rotating special exhibitions change through the year. The museum also runs PAM CUT, its film and media center, with screenings at the Tomorrow Theater on SE Division Street. Free First Thursday is generous but busy; for quiet galleries, come on a weekday morning.

Fitting it into a downtown day: the museum is on the South Park Blocks, a few minutes' walk from Pioneer Courthouse Square and close to the Oregon Historical Society, Portland State University's food cart pod and the Portland Streetcar. It is a natural anchor for a rainy-day itinerary that adds Powell's City of Books, and a strong pair with the Portland Japanese Garden for anyone interested in art and design. Families get excellent value with free entry for anyone 17 and under.

A few extra pointers make the visit smoother. Bags larger than a small purse may need to be checked, so travel light. The museum's two buildings are big enough that it pays to choose a focus — perhaps the Native American and Northwest galleries in the morning and a special exhibition after lunch at Coquelico Café — rather than trying to see everything. Docent-led talks and gallery programs run regularly, and the museum's calendar lists lectures, family days and evening events. For a full art day, add the free public art along the transit mall, the galleries of the Pearl District, or the Portland Japanese Garden's Pavilion Gallery, where rotating exhibitions explore Japanese art and craft.