Kidd’s Toy Museum (1301 SE Grand Ave., 503/233-7807, noon–6 p.m. Mon.–Fri., free) is a collection of thousands of children’s toys collected by Frank Kidd, whose family owns a local auto parts business. The toys are mostly from the 1860s to the 1940s and include mechanical windup toys, porcelain dolls, and early Disney action figures.

It’s a vast and fascinating collection: Children play with toys, but it’s adults who make the toys, and the values and politics of the adult world are dispersed to children throughout the realm of playthings.

A large portion of the collection features vehicular toys, including vintage horse-drawn carriages, ships, trucks, and trains. Also included is a number of railway items, particularly from now long-gone rail lines that served the Northwest; the collection of railroad padlocks is very imposing.

The Kidd Toy Museum is located in a warehouse in industrial Southeast Portland, and only a taped-on paper sign announces the entrance. Knock for entry.