Since opening in November 2006, this multimedia interpretive exhibit located in the New Columbia neighborhood of Portland, Oregon has drawn thousands of viewers to experience the 10,000-year history of this area near the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette Rivers.

The exhibit includes more than 150 photos, music and natural sounds, a video, and objects relating to the Chinookan culture that lived in the area for about 10,000 years, the Kaiser WWII shipyards, Columbia Villa, and its transition into the community of New Columbia. One display case tells the story of the Chinook People, many of whom still live in the area, while another case explains the WWII shipbuilding era and the need to build Columbia Villa and the nearby community of Vanport to house the massive influx of shipyard workers from all over the country.

May 28, 2008 -- Memorial Day -- marks the 60th anniversary of the Vanport Flood, in which 20,000 homes were swept away after the failure of an earthen levee on the Columbia. NiCHE features a huge 1945 aerial photograph of Columbia Villa and Vanport before the flood devastated the neighborhood. Many former residents are able to locate in the photograph where they once lived in these communities.

Another feature of the exhibit is the main display wall's background design, which uses more than 250 cedar house numbers salvaged from the demolition of Columbia Villa in 2004. The branch-like motif symbolizes the two rivers merging into one and the many cultures forming one community. Many visitors, who once lived in Columbia Villa, scan the exhibit's long wall for their old house numbers.