Community celebration on November 14 will honor the building’s history and its continuing life as a home for art
COOS BAY, Ore. — Coos Art Museum will celebrate the 90th anniversary of its historic Art Deco home on Saturday, November 14, with a day of building history, community memories, art, music, and celebration.
Originally opened as the Marshfield Post Office in November 1936, the building at 235 Anderson Avenue has remained a fixture of downtown Coos Bay for nine decades. Today, the landmark serves a different public purpose as the home of Coos Art Museum and the Oregon Coast’s only art museum.
The 90th Anniversary Celebration will take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is free and open to all.
From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., visitors are invited to explore the Museum during an open house featuring displays about the history of the building, a community memory wall, and the Museum’s current exhibitions. Historic photographs and stories will offer a look at the building’s changing role in the community from a working post office to its present-day life as an art museum.
A special Anniversary Program from 2 to 3 p.m. will bring together guest speakers to reflect on the history of the building and Coos Art Museum. The program will also include a gallery dedication and birthday cake in recognition of the building’s 90th year.
The celebration continues from 3 to 5 p.m. with the opening of a new exhibition by artist Morgan Johnson, accompanied by live music. The exhibition opening offers visitors a chance to experience the building not simply as a piece of local history, but as the active cultural space it has become.
The anniversary highlights a distinctive chapter in Coos Bay history. Built as a public building during the New Deal era, the former post office was ultimately preserved and adapted for a new purpose rather than lost. Its original architectural character now provides the setting for exhibitions, education, and community programs.
Coos Art Museum invites former postal employees, Museum supporters, longtime residents, newcomers, and anyone curious about the building to take part in the celebration and help add to its story.
See what 90 years looks like. Come celebrate with us!
EVENT DETAILS
90th Anniversary Celebration: Celebrating the Historic Marshfield Post Office
Saturday, November 14, 2026
11 a.m.–5 p.m.
Coos Art Museum
235 Anderson Ave., Coos Bay, Oregon
Free and open to all
11 a.m.–2 p.m. — Open House
Building history displays, community memory wall, and current exhibitions
2–3 p.m. — Anniversary Program
Guest speakers, gallery dedication, and birthday cake
3–5 p.m. — Morgan Johnson and CAM Biennial exhibition openings
New exhibitions and live music