The complex was originally built in the early 1920s as the Pacific International Livestock Exposition, and operated as a livestock exhibition, cattle grading, and auction facility. Alexander Chalmers, Centerville/Forest Grove, breeder of Shorthorn Cattle; Frank Brown, Carlton, breeder of Shropshire Sheep and Shorthorn Cattle; Herb Chandler, Baker, breeder of Hereford Cattle; A.C. Ruby, Portland, breeder of Clydesdale Horses; O.M. Plumber, a Portland businessman; and W.B. Ayre, Portland, a wealthy lumberman as a group formed the Pacific International Livestock Show in Portland. The first year of the show, the stock, including cattle, horses, sheep, and pigs, were housed in the beef cattle covered pens. Two huge exhibition tents were erected for the judging of the stock. Later, a building was constructed adjacent to the North Portland stockyards, which was next to Swift & Co. slaughter and processing plant. Subsequent shows were held in this building, which still stood as of 1979. It is now owned by the Multnomah County Fair Association. The show later had a side line of holding huge auctions of livestock for breeding purposes. Later the show included horse show and rodeo venues. From May 2 to September 10, 1942, the center suspended livestock exposition operations and served as a Civilian Assembly Center under President Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066, which authorized the eviction and confinement of Japanese Americans living on the West Coast during World War II. 3,676 people of Japanese descent were confined in the hastily converted animal corrals for a period of five months, while they awaited transfer to more permanent camps in California, Idaho and Wyoming. Torii Gate, an installation piece by Portland artist Valerie Otani, acts as a memorial honoring the people held at the Portland Assembly Center in 1942. For three months in the summer of 1959, the Oregon Centennial Exposition was held at the site. Among various attractions, the centennial exposition featured a railroad line that used two trains built for the then-new Portland Zoo Railway, on temporary loan. Multnomah County acquired the facility in 1965; it was renamed the Multnomah County Exposition Center. It became home to the annual Multnomah County Fair in 1970, and the fairs were held there through 1996. After the Metropolitan Exposition and Recreation Commission of Metro, the regional government for the Portland metropolitan area, took over ownership and management of the facility in 1994, the complex was renamed Portland Expo Center. It has since undergone major renovations. Events at the Expo Center include the Portland Better Living Home and Garden Show, Antique and Collectible Show and Christmas Bazaar.
Amenities
Halls A, B, and C are currently the oldest buildings in the complex. Halls A and B have ceiling heights, and Hall C has a ceiling height. Hall A has of space and can accommodate up to 2,726; Hall B has of space and can seat up to 2,700; Hall C has of space, seats up to 4,736. Hall D, the newest building in the complex, replaced an older exhibit hall. It has of space and a ceiling height, can be divided into two exhibit halls and can seat up to 7,000. Hall E, built in 1997, is the largest exhibit hall in the complex, with of space and a ceiling height. It seats up to 9,000. Halls D and E are connected by a connector. East Hall has of space. The complex has many meeting rooms and a total of of exhibit space.
