# Chet Orloff

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{{short description|American historian}}

'''Chester Lloyd''' "'''Chet'''" '''Orloff''' (born February 22, 1949) is a historian, writer and professor in [Portland, Oregon](/source/Portland%2C_Oregon), called "one of [Oregon's] favorite history teachers" by ''[The Oregonian](/source/The_Oregonian)''.<ref name="favoritehistory">{{cite news|title=Oregon's history teacher (editorial)|date=November 13, 2000|work=The Oregonian}}</ref>

==Early life==
Orloff was born in [Bellingham, Washington](/source/Bellingham%2C_Washington) to business financier [Monford Orloff](/source/Monford_Orloff) and Janice Diamond Orloff, and raised in Washington and Portland, Oregon. His brother is physicist [Jon Orloff](/source/Jon_Orloff). Orloff attended [Lincoln High School](/source/Lincoln_High_School_(Portland%2C_Oregon)),<ref>{{cite news|title=The Director, Chet Orloff|date=December 3, 1995|work=[The Oregonian](/source/The_Oregonian)|page=L10}}</ref> went to [Boston University](/source/Boston_University) to prepare for law school,<ref>{{cite news|title=The Future of the Past|last=Rubenstein|first=Sura|date=December 3, 1995|work=[The Oregonian](/source/The_Oregonian)|page=L1}}</ref> then transferred to the [University of Oregon](/source/University_of_Oregon) where he ran under legendary track coach [Bill Bowerman](/source/Bill_Bowerman). Orloff studied anthropology at University of Oregon,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NTsRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=IeEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4700,126781&dq=chet+orloff&hl=en|title=Eugene's ecology-aware school kids keep Jaycee's anti-litter beast well fed|last=Wyant|first=Dan|date=November 1, 1970|work=[Eugene Register-Guard](/source/The_Register-Guard)|page=13|accessdate=May 14, 2013}}</ref> graduating in 1972 with a degree in [archaeology](/source/archaeology).<ref name="books">{{cite news|title=Chet Orloff, Executive Director, Oregon Historical Society, on his book-lined library|last=Mershon|first=Helen L.|date=September 17, 1997|work=[The Oregonian](/source/The_Oregonian)|page=2}}</ref> Orloff later received a master's degree in history and historical agency administration from Portland State University.<ref name="books" />

==Career==
Orloff enlisted in the [Peace Corps](/source/Peace_Corps) and lived and taught in [Afghanistan](/source/Afghanistan) with his wife until 1975. They returned to Portland where he interned at the [Oregon Historical Society](/source/Oregon_Historical_Society) (OHS), then became assistant director from 1982 to 1986.<ref name="sura">{{cite news|title=Historical Society praises new executive director|last=Rubenstein|first=Sura|date=November 11, 1991|work=[The Oregonian](/source/The_Oregonian)|page=B5}}</ref> In 1987 he left OHS and founded the [Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society](/source/Ninth_Judicial_Circuit_Historical_Society) in [Pasadena, California](/source/Pasadena%2C_California).<ref>{{cite news|title=Role of far-reaching Ninth Judicial Circuit Court spawns publications|last=Pintarich|first=Paul|date=January 23, 1990|work=[The Oregonian](/source/The_Oregonian)|page=D6}}</ref> In 1991, he returned to OHS as executive director, succeeding Bill Tramposch.<ref name="sura"/><ref name="ohs">{{cite news|title=Former assistant to head Historical Society|last=Tomlinson|first=Stuart|date=November 7, 1991|work=[The Oregonian](/source/The_Oregonian)|page=B3}}</ref><ref name="leave" /><ref name="motc">{{cite news|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/01/portland_state_prof_takes_on_a.html|title=Portland State prof takes on a new kind of museum: One on the Internet using a Wikipedia model |last=Saker|first=Anne|date=January 11, 2010|work=[The Oregonian](/source/The_Oregonian)|accessdate=May 14, 2013}}</ref> He held this position for ten years, retiring at the end of 2000.<ref name="favoritehistory" /><ref name="leave">{{cite news|title=Orloff will leave job at Historical Society|last=Leeson|first=Fred|date=November 8, 2000|work=[The Oregonian](/source/The_Oregonian)|page=C9}}</ref> Orloff was the founder and editor of the journal ''Western Legal History'' and was the Senior Editor of the ''[Oregon Historical Quarterly](/source/Oregon_Historical_Quarterly)''.

In 2001, Orloff assembled a [Columbia River](/source/Columbia_River) maritime museum in a concourse at the [Portland International Airport](/source/Portland_International_Airport). It was "98 percent complete" as of the [September 11 attacks](/source/September_11_attacks), which limited visitors to ticketed passengers.<ref>{{cite news|title=Museum in a hub of inactivity|last=Stewart|first=Bill|date=October 10, 2001|work=[The Oregonian](/source/The_Oregonian)|page=D1}}</ref>

Orloff is an adjunct professor of Urban Studies and Planning at [Portland State University](/source/Portland_State_University) and an instructor at the [University of Oregon](/source/University_of_Oregon) School of Architecture.<ref name="motc" /> He is also principal of [Oregon History Works](/source/Oregon_History_Works), a consulting firm for historical applications in design and development,{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}} president of [Museum of the City](/source/Museum_of_the_City)<ref name="motc"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.museumofthecity.org/content/meet-museum-board|title=Meet the Museum Board|work=Museum of the City|accessdate=28 November 2011|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111023101314/http://www.museumofthecity.org/content/meet-museum-board|archivedate=23 October 2011}}</ref> and has served on the [Portland Planning Commission](/source/Portland_Planning_Commission),<ref name="sura"/> Portland Landmarks Commission, Regional Arts and Culture Counsel, Portland Parks Board, Center City 2035 Plan Committee, (co-chair), and other various assignments.{{Citation needed|date=November 2011}}

===Selected publications===
; Author/editor
* ''Western Legal History Volume 2, Number 2'', Chet Orloff, editor, 1989, Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society
* ''Portland's Public Art: A Guide and History'', Norma Catherine Gleason and Chet Orloff, 1986, {{ISBN|0-87595-059-0}}
* ''Willamette Heights: a history'', 1980
* ''Gifts that preserve Oregon's past for the future'', 1980

; Chapter and article contributions
* ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=sCqPiH5-5-wC&dq=%22Museums+of+Cities+and+the+Future+of+Cities%22+orloff&pg=PA27 Museums of Cities and the Future of Cities]'', in Robert R. Macdonald's ''City Museums and City Development'', 2008, {{ISBN|0-7591-1180-4}}
* ''If Zealously Promoted by All: The Push and Pull of Portland Parks History'', in ''The Portland Edge: Challenges and Successes In Growing Communities'', 2008, Connie Ozawa, editor, {{ISBN|1-55963-695-5}}
* ''[http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/yearbook_of_the_association_of_pacific_coast_geographers/v066/66.1orloff.html Maintaining Eden: John Charles Olmsted and the Portland Park System]'', in ''Yearbook of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers 66'', 2004

==Personal life==
Orloff lives in the Willamette Heights area of Portland.<ref name="books" /> He is vocal about Portland history and politics.

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orloff, Chester}}
Category:1949 births
Category:21st-century American historians
Category:21st-century American male writers
Category:Boston University Terriers men's track and field athletes
Category:Lincoln High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni
Category:Living people
Category:Oregon Ducks men's track and field athletes
Category:Writers from Bellingham, Washington
Category:Writers from Portland, Oregon
Category:Portland State University faculty
Category:Historians from Washington (state)
Category:American male non-fiction writers

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Chet Orloff](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chet_Orloff) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chet_Orloff?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.