The City of Portland Archives and Records Center Move FAQ

Archives

The City of Portland's archival records provide important historical evidence of the development of city government since 1851. Significant research subjects documented by the collection include, but are not limited to, urban planning, parks, land use, public works, economic development, public safety and social issues.

The Archives contain approximately 8,000 cubic feet of material. The collection includes reports and studies, correspondence and memoranda from city agencies, and elected officials, maps and plans, and nearly 750,000 photographic images of City projects and personnel.

In order to prolong the life of the historical records, the Archives staff processes the documents according to professional standards. Additional measures are taken to establish intellectual control, thus enhancing access for researchers.

Records Center

The Records Center's role is to provide low-cost storage, maintenance, and reference use of records pending their ultimate disposition according to established records retention schedules.

Records Center staff assists city agencies in the transfer, retrieval, and final disposition of records. The Records Center holds approximately 22,000 cubic feet of material, including, but not limited to, land use records, bureau project records, contracts and audited vouchers.

The staff researches, retrieves, and provides access for City agencies to their files within 24 hours from the time retrieval requests are made. Photocopies of original documents from microfilm are also available.