Discover 35 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Salem (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Enchanted Forest, and Oregon State Capitol. Also, be sure to include Oregon State Fair in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Salem (Oregon).
Table of Contents
Hallie Ford Museum of Art
Museum in Salem, Oregon. The Hallie Ford Museum of Art is the museum of Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, United States. It is the third largest art museum in Oregon. Opened in 1998, the facility is across the street from the Oregon State Capital in downtown Salem, on the western edge of the school campus. Hallie Ford exhibits collections of both art and historical artifacts with a focus on Oregon related pieces of art and artists in the 27,000 square feet facility. The museum also hosts various traveling exhibits in two of its six galleries.[1]
Address: 700 State St, 97301 Salem
Enchanted Forest
Amusement park in Marion County, Oregon. The Enchanted Forest is an amusement park located in Turner, Oregon, on a small patch of hilly wooded land next to Interstate 5, just south of Salem, Oregon. The park was created and hand built by Roger Tofte over a period of seven years in the late 1960s. The park first opened to the public in 1971. Early success led to many expansions over the last half-century, mostly built again by Roger Tofte by hand. The Tofte family still owns and operates the 20-acre park, with three generations of the family involved in the day to day operations. The park sees an average of 200,000 guests a year during the normal six-month-long season.[2]
Address: 8462 Enchanted Way SE, 97392-9444 Salem
Oregon State Capitol
Building in Salem, Oregon. The Oregon State Capitol is the building housing the state legislature and the offices of the governor, secretary of state, and treasurer of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located in the state capital, Salem. Constructed from 1936 to 1938 and expanded in 1977, the current building is the third to house the Oregon state government in Salem. The first two capitols in Salem were destroyed by fire, one in 1855 and the other in 1935.
New York architects Trowbridge & Livingston conceived the current structure's Art Deco stripped classical design in association with Francis Keally. Much of the interior and exterior is made of marble. The Oregon State Capitol was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 29, 1988.
The federal government's Public Works Administration partially financed construction which was completed during the Great Depression in 1938. The building was erected at a cost of $2.5 million for the central portion of the building, which includes a dome of 166 feet (51 m). The wings, which doubled the floor space of the building to about 233,750 square feet (21,716 m2), were added later for $12.5 million. The grounds outside the capitol building contain artwork, fountains, and flora, including the state tree (Douglas fir) and state flower (Oregon grape).[3]
Address: 900 Court St NE, 97301-4042 Salem
Oregon State Fair
The Oregon State Fair is the official state fair of the U.S. state of Oregon. It takes place every August–September at the 185-acre Oregon State Fairgrounds located in north Salem, the state capital, as it has almost every year since 1862. In 2006, responsibility for running the fair was delegated to the Oregon State Parks and Recreation Department, and the division is now known as the Oregon State Fair & Exposition Center, which holds events on the fairgrounds year-round.[4]
Address: state fairgrounds @ 2320 17th St NE, Salem
Oregon Veterans Medal of Honor Memorial
The Oregon Veterans Medal of Honor Memorial, or Oregon's Medal of Honor Memorial, is an outdoor memorial commemorating all veterans, and especially Medal of Honor recipients, installed outside the Oregon State Capitol in Salem, Oregon, United States.[5]
Willamette Heritage Center
Museum in Salem, Oregon. Willamette Heritage Center is a museum in Salem, Oregon, United States. The 5-acre site features several structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places including the Thomas Kay woolen mill, the Jason Lee House, Methodist Parsonage, John D. Boon House and the Pleasant Grove Church. The houses and church were relocated to the mill site. The Center also includes a research library and archives of Marion County history.
The Center was created in 2010 from the merger of the Mission Mill Museum Association (est. 1964) and the adjacent Marion County Historical Society (est. 1950).[6]
Address: 1313 Mill St SE, 97301 Salem
Breyman Fountain
Fountain in Salem, Oregon. Breyman Fountain, also known as the Breyman Brothers Fountain and Breyman Horse Trough, is an outdoor fountain by an unknown sculptor, installed in Willson Park, on the grounds of the Oregon State Capitol, in Salem, Oregon, United States.[7]
A. C. Gilbert's Discovery Village
Museum in Salem, Oregon. The Gilbert House Children's Museum is a private nonprofit 501 children's museum within Riverfront Park located in Salem, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1989.
The museum has 16 hands-on S.T.E.A.M. exhibits, a 20,000 ft² Outdoor Discovery Area, field trips, STEM Workshops, membership opportunities, summer camps, and educational programs in the sciences, arts, and humanities.
This hands-on museum was named in honor of American inventor Alfred Carlton Gilbert and displays several of his inventions, most notably the Erector Set. In fact, the Museum is home to the world's largest Erector Set tower at 52 feet. Originally home to the National Toy Hall of Fame, the museum sold the Hall of Fame to the Strong - National Museum of Play in 2002.
Besides its interactive exhibits, Gilbert House Children's Museum also provides summer camps, birthday party packages, and outreach programs.
The museum is housed in several historic Victorian buildings, including the Andrew T. Gilbert House, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), and a 1998 replica of the Wilson-Durbin House, which was also NRHP-listed until it was destroyed by fire in 1990.[8]
Address: 116 Marion St NE, 97301 Salem
Bush's Pasture Park
Museum in Salem, Oregon. Bush's Pasture Park is a public park and botanical garden in Salem, Oregon, United States. It is the site of the Asahel Bush House, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, and is now operated as the Bush House Museum.[9]
Address: 890 Mission St SE, 97302 Salem
Oregon World War II Memorial
The Oregon World War II Memorial is a war memorial on the grounds of the Oregon State Capitol, in the Salem, Oregon, United States. It was dedicated on June 6, 2014.[10]
Riverfront Park
Park in Salem, Oregon. Riverfront Park is a 23-acre park located along the Willamette River in Salem, Oregon, in the United States. Features include the Riverfront Carousel, A. C. Gilbert's Discovery Village, an amphitheatre, and Eco-Earth Globe, an outdoor sculpture and community art project completed in 2003. It is located on former industrial land owned by the Boise Cascade corporation redeveloped as part of the Riverfront-Downtown Urban Renewal Area.[11]
Address: 200 Water St NE, 97301 Salem
Peter Courtney Minto Island Bridge
The Peter Courtney Minto Island Bridge is a bicycle and pedestrian Bridge in Salem, Oregon, United States.[12]
Union Street Railroad Bridge
Bridge in Salem, Oregon. The Union Street Railroad Bridge is a vertical lift, Pratt through truss bridge that spans the Willamette River in Salem, Oregon, United States, built in 1912–13. It was last used by trains in the early 1990s and was sold for one dollar in 2003 to the City of Salem, which converted it to bicycle and pedestrian use in 2008–2009. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.[13]
Address: Union St., Salem
Elsinore Theatre
Theatre in Salem, Oregon. The Elsinore Theatre is a 1,290-seat theatre located in Salem, Oregon, United States, that first opened on May 28, 1926.[14]
Address: 170 High St SE, 97301-3608 Salem
Marion Street Bridge
Bridge in Salem, Oregon. The Marion Street Bridge is an automobile bridge located in Salem, Oregon, United States. It spans the Willamette River to connect Salem and West Salem, and acts as a conduit for Oregon Route 22. The bridge carries vehicular traffic one way westbound. Traffic includes two lanes that flow onto the bridge from Marion Street, vehicles turning right from Commercial Street, and traffic from a quarter-loop on-ramp from Front Street that was added in 1981. Construction began in December 1952 and the bridge opened in 1954, after taking nearly three years to complete. The bridge was built to complement the Center Street Bridge, which switched from two-way traffic to eastbound-only, later expanding to four lanes in 1982. At the time of its opening, the Marion Street Bridge was the longest bridge of its type west of the Mississippi River.[15]
City View Cemetery
Cemetery. City View Cemetery is a privately owned cemetery in Salem, Oregon, United States that was established in 1893. Its Mount Crest Abbey Mausoleum, opened in 1914, contains the remains of eight governors of Oregon.[16]
Address: 390 Hoyt St S, Salem
Reed Opera House and McCornack Block Addition
Shopping mall in Salem, Oregon. The Reed Opera House and McCornack Block Addition, more commonly known as The Reed Opera House or The Reed, is a historic building in downtown Salem, Oregon, United States. Since its grand opening on September 27, 1870, the Reed Opera House has served as a performing arts center and shopping mall. The Italianate brick structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[17]
Address: 189 Liberty St NE, 97301 Salem
Veterans of Foreign Wars Monument
Monument in Salem, Oregon. The Veterans of Foreign Wars Monument, also known as To All Who Have Served, is a monument installed outside the Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs building in Salem, Oregon, United States. The memorial features a soldier atop a globe.[18]
Salem First United Methodist Church
United methodist church in Salem, Oregon. Salem First United Methodist Church is a Methodist congregation and historic church in Salem, Oregon, United States. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places under its original name, First Methodist Episcopal Church of Salem, in 1983. First United is the oldest Methodist church west of the Rocky Mountains, and is a designated United Methodist Heritage Landmark. It is one of Oregon's few high-style Gothic Revival churches outside of Portland, and has one of the rare tall spires left standing in the state.[19]
Address: 600 State St, 97301-3887 Salem
Salem's Historic Grand Theatre
Theater in Salem, Oregon. The Grand Theatre is part of a complex of historic buildings in Salem, Oregon, United States that was originally owned by the fraternal organization Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Chemeketa Lodge No. 1, Odd Fellows Buildings. The theater building is also known as the I.O.O.F. Temple.
The Grand Theatre was built as a lodge hall and opera house by the Oddfellows in 1900, and was designed by the architectural firm of Pugh & Gray. The Julius Grau Opera Company performed at the grand opening on November 29, 1900. An annex containing a hotel and bus terminal and designed by architect Morris Whitehouse was built in 1921. The two former I.O.O.F. buildings were added to the NRHP in 1988. The buildings currently hold retail businesses, offices, and a ballroom with other facilities that are rented for special events and even lends itself as a film and music venue. Enlightened Theatrics also performs several Broadway style live performances each year at the Grand Theatre.
The Grand Theatre has main floor and balcony seating. The Film Daily Yearbook of 1947 listed the Grand Theatre having 744 seats. Over the years, the seating capacity has been reduced to 380 seats. There are 13 rows on the main floor with 268 seats and 5 rows in the balcony with 112 seats.[20]
Minto-Brown Island Park
Park in Marion County, Oregon. Minto-Brown Island Park is the largest park in Salem, Oregon, United States.[21]
Address: 2200 Minto Island Rd SE, Salem
Walter Wirth Lake
Lake in Oregon. Walter Wirth Lake is a lake in Salem, Oregon, United States. Walter Wirth Lake is wholly contained within Cascades Gateway Park. The park and lake began development in 1957 with the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce working with the State Highway Department to convert a gravel burrow pit into a park. Original development of the park included a swimming area, paddle boats, a children's zoo, and concession stands. In 1976, a Department of Environmental Quality study determined the lake to be suffering the effects from upstream polluters closing the lake to swimming. Since that time the lake has held numerous programs in canoeing, sailing, and fishing, it is now open for swimming again.[22]
Fallen Worker Memorial
The Fallen Worker Memorial is a memorial commemorating workers killed on the job, installed outside the state Labor and Industries building near the Oregon State Capitol in Salem, Oregon, United States. The memorial, which was proposed by Oregon AFL–CIO, approved by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, and dedicated in April 2009, features a bronze plaque and benches, cheery trees, and additional landscaping adjacent to the Labor and Industries Building. Construction cost approximately $20,000 and was funded by donations. The site has hosted services in observance of Workers' Memorial Day.[23]
Medal of Honor Monument
The Medal of Honor Monument, also known as the Oregon Medal of Honor Roll, is a granite obelisk commemorating Oregon's Medal of Honor recipients, installed outside the Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs Building in Salem, Oregon, United States. Cut from a step leading to the Oregon State Capitol, the memorial is a replica of the state's monument in the Medal of Honor Grove Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.[24]
Willamette Mission State Park
State park in Marion County, Oregon. Willamette Mission State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Oregon, located about four miles north of Keizer adjacent to the Wheatland Ferry and east of the Willamette River. It includes Willamette Station Site, Methodist Mission in Oregon, which is listed by the National Register of Historic Places.[25]
Address: 10991 Wheatland Rd NE, Salem
Deepwood Estate
Museum in Salem, Oregon. Deepwood Museum & Gardens, formerly known as Historic Deepwood Estate, or simply Deepwood, is a historic house in Salem, Oregon, United States. The home was built by Dr. Luke A. Port, with construction beginning in 1893, and completed in 1894. The historic house and property have been managed since 1974 by the non-profit Friends of Deepwood, and is owned by the City of Salem.
It was designed by William C. Knighton as his first residential commission, and the landscape design was done by the Salem firm of Lord & Schryver starting in 1929. The Queen Anne style house contains Povey Brothers Studio stained glass windows throughout. The construction cost was between $12,000 and $15,000.[26]
Address: 1116 Mission St SE, Salem
Lee Mission Cemetery
Cemetery in Salem, Oregon. Lee Mission Cemetery is a pioneer cemetery in Salem, Oregon, United States.[27]
Address: 2200 D St NE, Salem
Martha Springer Botanical Garden
Botanical garden in Salem, Oregon. The Martha Springer Botanical Garden is a botanical garden on the campus of Willamette University, in Salem, Oregon, United States. Opened in 1988, the 1-acre garden contains twelve smaller gardens stretched along the Mill Race that bisects the campus.[28]
Powerland Heritage Park
Museum in Marion County, Oregon. Powerland Heritage Park, formerly known as Antique Powerland, is a collection of museums and a self-described heritage site for power equipment, such as farm machinery, commercial trucks, trains, construction equipment, and the engines which power them. It is located in Brooks, Oregon, United States, and is operated by the non-profit Antique Powerland Museum Association. It was initially established by a group of enthusiasts "dedicated to the preservation, restoration and demonstration of steam powered equipment, antique farm machinery and implements."
The museum is located on a 62-acre (250,000 m2) parcel of land just off Interstate 5 in Brooks, and has been in operation (in various forms) since the 1970s. Originally, the site was primarily used for "threshing bees", a forerunner to the modern tractor pull, and the remainder of the site committed to farming. With the addition of a truck museum and a railroad museum, the entire grounds were dedicated to exhibits; the current structure of Antique Powerland has been in operation since 1996.
Each summer, Antique Powerland presents the Great Oregon Steam-Up, wherein many of the exhibits are fired up and displayed in an operational state. Despite the name, many different types of power equipment are displayed, including steam-powered equipment, diesel-powered equipment, gasoline-powered equipment, and electric-powered equipment.
Antique Powerland was renamed Powerland Heritage Park in spring 2017.[29]
Address: 3995 Brooklake Rd NE, Salem
St. Joseph's Catholic Church
Catholic church in Salem, Oregon. St. Joseph's is the oldest Catholic parish in Salem, Oregon. It currently serves some 3,500 families and conducts services in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Latin. The parish school staff has been recognized for excellence in education as recently as 2005.[30]
Address: 721 Chemeketa St NE, 97301 Salem
World War I Memorial
Sculpture. The World War I Memorial, also known as the Veterans Memorial, is a relief sculpture and war memorial by artist Frederic Littman and architect Pietro Belluschi, installed of the exterior of Salem, Oregon's Marion County Courthouse, in the United States. The marble sculpture was dedicated in 1954 and depicts a grieving woman kneeling and holding a wreath. Viesko & Post served as the contractor of the project. The sculpture was deemed "well maintained" during the Smithsonian Institution's "Save Outdoor Sculpture!" program in July 1993.[31]
Afghan–Iraqi Freedom Memorial
The Afghan–Iraqi Freedom Memorial is a war memorial installed on the Oregon Veterans' Building grounds, in Salem, Oregon, United States. The monument was dedicated in 2006.[32]
Center Street Bridge
Bridge in Salem, Oregon. The Center Street Bridge is an automobile bridge located in Salem, Oregon, United States. It spans the Willamette River, connecting West Salem and Oregon Route 22 to Salem. It carries vehicle traffic eastbound from Route 22 and directly from Wallace Road. Traffic exits onto Center Street directly, and onto Front Street via an off-ramp, which was built in 1977. Construction of the bridge started in 1917. The bridge was officially opened on July 30, 1918, to two-way vehicle traffic. It was later switched to eastbound-only when the westbound-only Marion Street Bridge opened in 1954. Center Street Bridge replaced the steel bridge that had been built in 1891, and was reconstructed in 1983 after the completion of a widening project from two to four lanes on the Marion Street Bridge.[33]
Waldo Park
Park in Salem, Oregon. Waldo Park is a municipal park, located in downtown Salem, Oregon, United States. It is one of the smallest city parks in the world, measuring 12 by 20 feet. The park consists of a giant sequoia surrounded by landscaping and marked with a plaque and sign.
The park is named for the 19th-century lawyer and Marion County judge William Waldo, who planted the tree on his property in 1872. Waldo later sold his property to the city, under condition that the tree be preserved. In 1936, the tree was made into a city park as a result of activism by the American War Mothers, with the support of prominent Salem citizens.
The tree is located at the intersection of Union and Summer streets, with Summer Street, a major Salem thoroughfare, temporarily reduced in width to make room for the tree. The tree currently reaches a height of 82 feet (25 m). It is a designated Oregon Heritage Tree.[34]
Gatke Hall
Building in Salem, Oregon. Gatke Hall is the second-oldest building at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, United States. A two-story structure, it was originally built in downtown Salem in 1903 across the street from the Marion County Courthouse and served as a post office. The Beaux Arts styled building was moved to the university in 1938 and first served as the home to the law school.[35]