Experience life in frontier saloons, gambling halls, and bordellos of the Old West.
New:
Download our audio tour!
Closes September 26, 2010
Sin in the
Sagebrush is one of the most in-depth exhibits
examining the lives of those who sought opportunity, fortune
and community on the Western frontier.
In this multi-sensory exhibit, you can step up to an 1880s
roulette table, game of faro, chuck-a-luck or poker, and take
in the cheating devices and refined attire of a professional
gambler, as well as the bowie knife and derringer he might use
when challenged. Meet a madam in the bordello and play card
games with a saloonkeeper.
The exhibit features live, authentic portrayals of those who
worked at these establishments, including the “sporting
men” running the games (they’ll invite you to play
– and even reveal how to cheat). Ask the saloonkeeper,
and “working women” of the night how they fell into
their professions, and discover the human stories behind the
stereotypes.
Become immersed in the atmosphere of the re-created Stockman
Saloon, with its oak and mahogany bar, polished nickel cash
register and cut-glass bar bottles. Illustrations of prize
fighters, racehorses, the local militia, ladies, and
a gilt-framed oil of a nude adorn the walls. Piano tunes,
gleaming kerosene lamps, and the aroma of whiskey and cigars
evoke the exuberant good times and comforts which Western
saloons offered to cold, weary patrons.
Curator of Western History Bob Boyd said, “You can
imagine how the nameless men of the frontier found refuge from
toil, loneliness, boredom and unfulfilled ambitions, and how
they fulfilled their needs and desires. It is a humanities
theme as much as an historical account.”
Sin approaches this “old West” subject unlike any
modern museum in the American West, according to Bill Lang,
chairman of the Department of Public History at Portland State
University. It will tour museums throughout the West after the
exhibit closes Sept. 26.
Presented by Schwabe Williamson and Wyatt, and sponsored by BendTel, Chubb, Horizon Broadcasting and Pepsi of Bend, with additional support from Oregon Heritage Commission, Oregon Community Foundation, Oregon Cultural Trust, The Bend Foundation, James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, Pacific Power Foundation and Deschutes Cultural Coalition.
Journalists: for more
info and material, visit our media site: Sin in the
Sagebrush.
