Online Exhibits

Resource

Exhibits included here highlight the City's collections and history.

The Portland City Archives is excited to announce its new exhibit, Hygiene Hysteria: Patrolling Women’s Health and Morals. The early 20th century was a time of urban growth and social change. This included a movement for social hygiene in efforts to eliminate social vices like gambling and prostitution, and minimize the spread of sexually transmitted infections. As a result of this movement and the onset of World War I, it was determined that people with venereal disease should be detained. Women were the focus of these efforts, despite venereal disease being carried by people of all genders, citing prostitution as the vehicle for the spread of the disease. It was this widely held belief that led to the establishment of the Cedars Detention Facility for Women, a detention home for women with sexually transmitted infections.

Visit the Portland City Archives and Records Center (PARC) to view the latest exhibit, Hygiene Hysteria, highlighting materials related to the creation of the Cedars detention facility. Ordinances, resolutions, reports, and correspondence give insight to the perspectives of City leaders of the time, as well as a glimpse into the treatment and lack of respect and autonomy women experienced.

Open for viewing Tuesday - Thursday, 8:00AM - 4:30PM.

1800 SW 6th Avenue, Suite 550 Portland, OR 97201

A promotional graphic for the Hygiene Hysteria exhibit, see caption for full description.

A promotional graphic for the exhibit featuring a blueprint drawing of the side view of a building known as the Cedars from 1918, and a black and white photograph of two women posing in front of striped curtains, standing on a wooden walkway from 1911. The exhibit title reads Hygiene Hysteria Patrolling Women’s Health and Morals. The citations for the records read Portland City Archives, M/4082 and AF/65152.

View past exhibits: