Like many of our readers, we think that Portland's history is a fascinating topic — from its iconic landmarks to the city's biggest "what ifs" — and we love to write about the past any chance we get.

It would be nigh impossible to do so without the hard work of Portland City Archives & Records Management, a vast repository of images, documents, and maps from yesteryear that help bring our articles to life.

The best part? All of that information is available to you too, and to raise awareness of the fact, the Portland Archives & Records Center will host a free, all-ages "Building Bridges" open house on Saturday, Oct. 12, from 2 to 5 p.m.

Members of the public are invited to peruse the collections — and even bring photographs and other materials of historic significance from home to digitize them at a family archive scanning station. There will also be trivia games and demonstrations of how to use the online archives database.

Here are some other activities to keep in mind:

Staff will lead behind-the-scenes tours at 3 and 4:15 p.m.
At 3:30 p.m., featured speakers from the Albina Music Trust will discuss the "only full service community archive in the United States dedicated to the restoration of a Black community's historic musical culture."

No prior registration is required and for any accessibility accommodations, reach out to parc@portlandoregon.gov.