World Forestry Center
1827030
212953078
2008-05-17T00:56:24Z
Katr67
759211
/* The Forestry Hall of Fame */ As far as I can tell, this isn't true
[[Image:Pdx washpark forestrycentermainentrance.jpeg|thumb|Forestry Center Main building]]
The '''World Forestry Center''' (WFC) is an [[United States|American]] [[Non-profit organization|nonprofit]] educational institution located in [[Portland, Oregon]]'s [[Washington Park, Portland|Washington Park]], near the [[Oregon Zoo]].
==History==
[[Image:Forestry Building from expo.png|thumb|Forestry Building circa 1920]]
The World Forestry Center has its roots in the 1905 [[Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition|Lewis and Clark Centennial American Pacific Exposition and Oriental Fair]] for which an enormous [[log cabin]] was built of huge native trees and advertised as the world's largest.<ref> {{cite web
| url = http://photos.salemhistory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/orarc&CISOPTR=2083&REC=1
| title = Oregon State Forestry Building at the Lewis and Clark Exposition
| author = Oregon State Archives, Secretary of State
| date= July 1961
| accessdate = 2007-11-04
}} </ref> Public interest in the '''Forestry Building''', which was turned over to the [[State of Oregon]], lasted long after the exposition ended, right up until it was destroyed by fire on [[August 17]] [[1964]].<ref name="wfchist"> {{cite web
| url = http://www.worldforestrycenter.org/organization/wfc_history.php
| title = Our Roots
| publisher = World Forestry Center
| accessdate = 2007-11-04
}} </ref>
The day after the fire, a group of civic and industry leaders conceived '''The Western Forestry Center'''.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} A new, less flammable forestry building designed by Oregon architect John Storrs was built in Washington Park.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} It opened to the public on [[June 5]][[1971]]. The name changed to "World Forestry Center" in 1986 to reflect the center's revised focus on forestry on a global scale.<ref name="wfchist"/>
On [[June 30]] [[2005]], after a $7 million, 6-month renovation, the 20,000 square foot museum reopened with new interactive exhibits about the sustainability of forests and trees of the [[Pacific Northwest]] and the world.<ref> {{cite web
| url = http://www.worldforestrycenter.org/organization/documents/GrandReopening.pdf
| format = [[PDF]]
| title = World Forestry Center Opens Its Doors to a BrandNew Discovery Museum
| work = press release
| date = [[June 8]][[2005]]
| author = Jennifer Kent
| publisher = World Forestry Center
| accessdate = 2007-11-04
}} </ref>
==Programs==
The World Forestry Center's mission is to "educate and inform people about the world's forests and trees, and their importance to all life, in order to promote a balanced and [[sustainability|sustainable]] future."<ref> {{cite web
| url = http://www.worldforestrycenter.org/organization/wfc_aboutus.php
| title = About Us
| publisher = World Forestry Center
| accessdate = 2007-11-04
}} </ref>
The WFC achieves its mission with three programs: '''The Discovery Museum''', two donated working forests—the Magness Memorial Tree Farm and the Johnson-Swanson Tree Farm—and the '''World Forest Institute''' (WFI), which was established in 1989. The primary program of WFI is the International Fellowship Program.
The World Forestry Center campus also accommodates three other buildings: Julian N. Cheatham Hall, Harold A. Miller Hall and Harry A. Merlo Hall, which houses the WFC’s administrative offices and the World Forest Institute.<ref> {{cite web
| url = http://www.worldforestrycenter.org/rentals/fr_halls.php
| title = Halls—Beautiful, Practical, & convenient
| publisher = World Forestry Center
| accessdate = 2007-11-04
}} </ref>
===The Forestry Hall of Fame===
The WFC Forestry Hall of Fame commemorates people who have made important contributions to [[forestry]]. The photographs and biographies of nearly 200 forestry leaders are displayed in three chests constructed of select [[Black Walnut]] from the [[Eastern United States|eastern U.S.]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.worldforestry.org/ World Forestry Center] (official website)
*[http://www.portlandonline.com/auditor/index.cfm?&a=24796&c=27928 Multnomah County records website: 1964 photo of forestry building burning]
{{geolinks-US-buildingscale|45.510635|-122.717895}}
[[Category:Industry museums]]
[[Category:Museums in Portland, Oregon]]