Kidd Toy Museum

Pretty cool museum. Awesome that it is free but I would hope so since it’s a fairly small space. This place has an interesting variation of kids toys dating back to The Civil War. With that said, yes, there were some items one may find offensive but an important part of history. Definitely recommend just to check it out.

Portland is lucky to have access to the Kidd Toy Museum. It is an extraordinary collection with an extraordinary price, free that is. Just knock at the appropriate hours and you can spend some time observing history. The essence of each time period that the toys are from tend to shine through the individual toys. Niches such as old Mickey Mouse products and toys specific to individual wars are more than honored.
I went to this museum by bus. After knocking, a polite volunteer answered after two minutes. Their only request was by far a reasonable one, signing the guest book. Subsequently, I moved about the rooms in constant awe. So much work went into the toys and so much work went into assembling their display at this building. Seats are also available in the unlikely event that walking around the displays become tiresome. I have a short attention span, but even I could keep my focus on for the massive amount of difference in shapes, sizes and influences.
You owe yourself a visit to the Kidd Toy Museum.

Wow. This place really has something for everyone, and you could easily spend over an hour here without children. Definitely call before you go, to make sure they’re open.

Amazing Collection! go and knock once!

Always nice to find free things to do in town, and there’s no guilt that I’m not buying anything like I sometimes feel browsing antique shops.
My only qualm is there are tons of the same or similar items, but it’s a great way to kill some time if you’re in the area, or even remotely interested in antiques/​toys/​trains/​figurines.

Had a field trip here. The kids loved looking at the stuff, but there was no effort made on the attendant to explain to the children the history or cultural significance of the toys. We had asked ahead of time if there would be someone to show us around and ask questions of. There was someone hiding out at a desk in a corner, but she did not welcome us or interact in any way. When we thanked her and said good bye, she simply said «okay». There were no signs posting any information either. A demonstration of a couple of the banks would have been nice. Our kids had never seen anything like them. But free is a great price!

As others have pointed out, be prepared to witness some downright offensive things here. Obviously, these toys have historical context, but it’s still disappointing, as far as humanity is concerned, that these things ever existed in the first place.
For a history geek like myself, I could spend all my days in places such as this. If that’s you, this is definitely up your alley. Also, keep in mind that non-​descript doesn’t even begin to describe this place. It’s in a totally un-​marked building, so it’s easy to pass it up unless you know what you’re looking for.

When I heard «Toy Museum», I did not envision walls of culturally insensitive banks. Yeah, yeah, part of history blah. blah. it was still a shocker.
I enjoyed walking through the rooms with my boyfriend and pointing out toys we used to have & love as children.
This is definitely a fun place to visit in Portland!

There’s something about having toys behind glass that seems very wrong. I appreciate the artistic and historical significance of the toys (even the horrifying ‘Greety N****r Banks’). Still, the awesome tin airplanes want to be played with!

It’s a cool place with a ton of stuff. Most of the first room were coin banks. And yet, I didn’t see a single piggy bank. Most of them were what we now know are racist piggy banks (African American designs described on boxes as «hungry» or «jolly» [N word] banks).
Then the other room had more «normal» toys such as dolls and stuffed animals.
There were also more things related to trains which I liked the best. Kidd collected a ton of locks from train companies. I asked what they were used for and apparently most were used to lock signals and rail cars together. There must have been hundreds of these locks. They also had services dishes and lamps associated with a few companies including Union Pacific and local rail ways.
It’s worth a visit and it’s free (they have a donation jar) but unless you’re really into old tin toys, it probably isn’t more than a 20-​minute tour. We would have lingered longer but nothing is really labeled so we had no idea the significance of what we were viewing.

This is not a cutesy collection of warm and fuzzy toys. No gooey-​eyed toys here.
The Kidd Museum is a collection of thousands of toys collected by Frank Kidd over a lifetime. The toys are from the 1850’s to the 1980’s.
You will be awed, dazzled and maybe even offended by the vast collection of toys, some of which are very un-​PC, but reflective of the political climate of the time.
Most of the toys are behind glass cases, Some are perched above these cabinets.
You’ll see lots of cast iron figures of vintage Disney and toy soldiers, tin coin banks, Felix the cat figures, trains and cars, pull toys, Smokey the Bear figures,
and so much more.
It is a FREE museum located in a nondescript building with no large signs.
There is a paper sign taped to the door.
Knock and hope someone will answer.
The hours are limited.
This is our 2^nd visit to the Kidd Museum. We came here 8 years go and made a point of coming here again.
Please see my PHOTOS.
fyi
May not be suitable for younger children unless you are prepared to explain to them the racist undertones of some of the toys.

Unless you are making a point to seek out Frank Kidd’s lifelong collection of antique toys, you would never notice the unassuming paper sign taped to a windowless building on Grand Ave. The museum hours are officially M-​F 12 – 6, but «if you knock and we look out at you and we open the door, then we’re open,» so try your luck or call ahead; we caught them open on a Saturday evening and had the place to ourselves.
I anticipated an extensive collection of toys both old and new, but to my delight the assortment was predominately antique and cast iron, with hardly a speck of the new plastic manufacturing of modern toys. The Kidd museum organizes their loot thematically with entire cases dedicated to locks and keys, another for locomotives, and still another to frightening teddy bears. Above all, though, the selection, detail, and quality of their enormous cast-​iron mechanical bank collection is amazing.
Do be prepared for racist toys, however; there was a whole corner filled with «Greedy Nigger Banks» and similar bigoted caricatures immortalized in iron. With this said, the Kidd collection seems to suggest that one could track the movement of history through the toys that we play with – from the racist relics to the WWII era toys that announce «Hell! Hitler» and to today’s Barbies, there is a hidden time-​capsule quality to be grappled with.
Oh, and this place is FREE so there’s no reason NOT to check out this tiny local museum!