[3][4] The Oslo City Museum was first founded in 1905 as the association Foreningen Det gamle Christiania.

A committee members included Bishop of Oslo Anton Christian Bang, architects Torolf Prytz and Harald Olsen, artist Eilif Peterssen and military officer Thomas Heftye.

The museum was established in 1972, but the precursor Christiania Theatre Historical Society opened in 1939, as a theatrical exhibition in Rådmannsgården, a preserved building in Gamle Oslo.

By the end of 2010 Oslo Museum discontinued tenancy in Gamle rådhus for economic reasons.

The museum was started in 1990 by Bente Guro Møller and works to promote understanding and respect for cultural diversity.

On the ground floor the museum has a permanent exhibition focusing on immigration history and cultural changes in Norwegian society.

The house includes an art gallery, concert hall, seminar rooms, and a culture workshop.

The museum manages events and city tours in the Kjenn din by program and publishes the journal of cultural history, Byminner.