Critters Make Merry at Pittock Mansion for Christmas

by | Dec 18, 2021 | Events, Features, News

Portland, OR. A holiday exhibit called ‘Critters Make Merry’ is on view now through January 4th at the Pittock Mansion. One room, seen above, is called Festive Flamingos. It was decorated by Dani Christine and Beth Clark. From reindeer and polar bears to lions and mice and a few in between, volunteer decorators transform the Mansion’s rooms into enchanting animal havens.
“Every year over 70 volunteer decorators have just two days to transform the Mansion for the holiday event,” Interim Executive Director John Miller explains. “It is exciting to watch it come together knowing that this is a much-anticipated annual tradition for so many in our community.”

Tickets for this year’s event are limited. Purchasing timed tickets online in advance is recommended. 

Face masks are required for the duration of a visit. The Mansion is open daily 10am-4pm, opening at noon on Tuesdays.

Timed tickets are available at pittockmansion.org/events. Admission is $13 for adults, $11 for seniors, $9 for youth, and children 5 and under are free.
Here’s a look at some of the Christmas displays of the past:

Henry Pittock’s Bathroom in 2015. (Photo credit Michael Henley)

Mansion Library in 2012. (Photo credit Michael Henley)

Pittock Mansion Music Room in 1967. (Photo credit Pittock Mansion Society.)

Pittock Mansion stairs in 2011. (Photo credit Michael Henley)

From Pittock Mansion:

Henry Pittock and Georgiana Burton Pittock

Henry Pittock (c.1834-1919) was born in London, England but grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1853, when Henry was 19, he headed west on the Oregon Trail to seek his fortune. A year later, his future wife Georgiana Burton (c.1845-1918) left Missouri with her family and headed west as well. When Henry and Georgiana arrived in the area, Portland was a frontier “stumptown” competing with Oregon City to become the major trade and industrial center for the region.

Henry found work as a typesetter at The Oregonian at a time when the newspaper industry was financially risky and fiercely competitive. More than 30 newspapers were launched in Portland during this period. On June 20, 1860, Henry and Georgiana married and five months later, he was given ownership of the paper in exchange for back wages. Henry went on to transform The Oregonian into a successful daily newspaper that is still printed today.

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