Welcome to the puzzle section of Multnomah County Archives. Piece by piece, each jigsaw puzzle reveals a special item from the Archives' collections. Take a break, grab some tea or coffee, and start puzzling. Research indicates that solving puzzles reduces stress, combats cognitive decline, and improves short-term memory and problem-solving skills.
Click on an image to go to the puzzle.
Puzzle 1 Puzzle 1 (Easy): Rosie the Reader
Rosie the Reader was a character created by the Multnomah County Library to promote youth reading and use of the library. Rosie was based on the Oregon Zoo’s first elephant, Rosie, who came to Oregon in 1953. This photograph of Rosie the Readers comes from the Archives' collection of Library Youth Services records.
Rosie the Reader participated in story hours, parades, and other events promoting library use, especially by young people. The character was active through at least the 1980s. You can see more photographs of Rosie at the 150 Years of Library Memories exhibit in The Gallery.
Puzzle 2 Puzzle 2 (Medium): The Art of Street Maps
The Assessment and taxation records collection boasts land parcel maps dating back to the late 19th century. Fun fact #1: These are technically known as "cadastral maps". Fun fact #2: Surveying has been around since humans began building large structures thousands of years ago.
The image used for this puzzle shows Section 11 from Lewis & Dryden's Atlas of Portland and Vicinity, a volume of property maps from the 1890s. The Lewis and Dryden Printing Company was a lithographic establishment based in Portland, Oregon. The company is most well-known for Lewis & Dryden's Marine History of the Pacific Northwest: an illustrated review of the growth and development of the maritime industry, from the advent of the earliest navigators to the present time, with sketches and portraits of a number of well known marine men. That's some title.
Puzzle 3 Puzzle 3 (Advanced): Columbia River Study
This image comes from a set of drawings in the Archives' Land Use Planning collection. For many years, County Archivists knew next to nothing about their origin or purpose. The only clue was the signature of the artist: Kunit. An enterprising sleuth from another County department solved the mystery in 2021.
Fifty years prior, in 1971, the Multnomah County Commission retained the firm of Royston, Hanamoto, Beck & Abey Landscape Architects to perform a land use study of an area along the south shore of the Columbia River. Eugene Kunit, a landscape architect who was connected with the firm, created these watercolor drawings as part of that project. The illustrations show scenes along the river with trails for walking and bicycling and other opportunities for recreational activities. One depicts an area with a community garden, vegetable market, ferry launch, and restaurant.