The Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals in Hillsboro, Oregon, houses a world-class collection recognized as the finest in the Pacific Northwest and one of the finest in the United States. The Museum building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places for its unique architectural style, natural stonework, and the extraordinary native Oregon woodwork found throughout the building.
The house is shown above.
Richard and Helen Rice constructed the building that would become the museum as their family home in 1952. Many rare Oregon woods, such as myrtle wood and quilted maple, was incorporated in the building of the house. As avid collectors, they built a gallery in their basement to display their personal mineral collection.
Shown above is a portion of the basement gallery.
Shown below are some of the Arizona minerals which are on display in the basement gallery.
More Rocks and Minerals
Mineral Museum: Bisbee Copper Minerals (Photo Diary)
Mineral Museum: Butte Minerals (Photo Diary)
Northwest Mineral Gallery: Some Oregon Minerals (Photo Diary)
Rock Museum: Some Minerals from India and Pakistan (Photo Diary)
Rock Museum: Some Chinese Minerals (Photo Diary)
Rock Museum: Some Mexican Minerals (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: Gems and Minerals as Art (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: California Gems and Minerals (Photo Diary)