Public Art on MAX Orange Line
Public art helps create a sense of place and adds to the quality of life for the citizens of our region. TriMet continues its commitment to public art on the new MAX Orange Line, working in collaboration with project partners and communities along the alignment.
The Orange Line public art consists of 25 projects with more than 200 separate elements by 26 artists and 57 writers. Goals for the artwork are to express the uniqueness of the individual station areas, encourage environmental stewardship and foster sustainability.
System-wide
Buster Simpson and Peg Butler, Orange Lining: Art Starts Now and Impressed Concrete.
Orange polypropylene fencing, concrete
- Public call for writing resulted in selection of 102 poetic phrases.
- Phrases were printed on orange silt fencing and installed temporarily during light rail construction.
- Phrases are stamped into new concrete sidewalks at 122 locations along the alignment.
Orange Lining: Art Starts Now
Orange Lining: Impressed Concrete
Shelter Windscreens
Lynn Basa, Journey Through Time
Etched glass
Glass pattern is derived from natural forms seen in the flow of water and in wood grain.
Journey Through Time
Lincoln St/SW 3rd Ave Station
Elizabeth Conner, Trio
Stainless and weathering steel
- Three-part sculpture was inspired by the work of choreographer Anna Halprin and Lawrence Halprin, architect of the adjacent Halprin Fountain Sequence.
- Illustrated panel by Mayer/Reed provides an introduction to Halprin’s historic series of public plazas.
Trio
Shelter Columns
Lynn Basa, Journey Through Time
Glass mosaic
Imagery is loosely based on a drawing by Halprin of his Fountain Sequence.
Journey Through Time
South Waterfront/SW Moody Ave Station
Jim Blashfield, Flooded Data Machine
Stainless steel, video
Video screens inside two freestanding enclosures display slow-moving images that allude to the river, local history, cultural institutions and businesses.
Flooded Data Machine
Shelter Columns
Lynn Basa, Journey Through Time
Glass mosaic
The resemblance of birch tree bark patterns to those of DNA sequencing is explored at the station next to the Collaborative Life Sciences Building.
Journey Through Time
OMSI/SE Water Ave Station
Jim Blashfield, Flooded Data Machine
Stainless steel, video
Video screens inside two freestanding enclosures display slow-moving images that allude to the river, local history, cultural institutions and businesses.
Shelter Columns
Lynn Basa, Journey Through Time
Glass mosaic
A tree bark pattern is rendered in various colors of copper, a material associated with industry, near Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.
Journey Through Time
Tilikum Crossing, Bridge of the People
Anna Valentina Murch and Doug Hollis, Tilikum Light and Sonic Dish
LEDs, stainless steel
- Programmable lighting on cable stays and piers changes color and motion depending on the natural conditions of the Willamette River.
- Concave discs in bridge abutment walls amplify sound and reflect the same light program as on the bridge above.
Tilikum Light
Sonic Dish
Greg A. Robinson, We Have Always Lived Here
Bronze, basalt
Two traditional Chinook basalt carvings at both ends of the bridge depict a Tayi, or headman, with his people.
Bronze medallion at northeast side of bridge landing features Coyote, humans and Morning Star with her children.
We Have Always Lived Here
We Have Always Lived Here
Clinton St/SE 12th Ave Station
Matthew Passmore, Intersection
Steel
Landmark sculpture constructed of repurposed freight rail references the historic impact of transportation infrastructure on the neighborhood.
Intersection
Shelter Columns
Lynn Basa, Journey Through Time
Glass mosaic
Falling apples allude to an extensive orchard once planted in the area.
Journey Through Time
Powell Blvd Light Rail Overpass
Horatio Law, Velosaurus
Concrete, painted steel
Recycled bicycle and skateboard parts are arranged to look like the skeletal remains of imaginary dinosaurs in a series of eight bas-relief panels.
Velosaurus
SE 17th Ave/Rhine St Station
Bill Will, Passage
Steel
Thirty-eight, weathered-steel boat sculptures appear to float in the landscape along 17th Avenue, emphasizing the natural history of “brook land” neighborhood.
Passage
Shelter Columns
Lynn Basa, Journey Through Time
Glass mosaic
Iconic boat shapes relate to sculptures along 17th Ave.
Journey Through Time
Rhine–Lafayette Pedestrian Overpass
Anne Storrs, Along These Lines
Stainless steel
- Sculpture and paving medallion at overpass landings draw upon the similarity of trees and root systems to the branching pattern of train tracks.
- Poetry by Cleveland High School student, Monica Arnone, and Oregon Poet Laureate Emerita, Paulann Peterson, is inscribed in stainless steel rings that encircle both pieces.
Along These Lines
TriMet Bus Maintenance Facility
Blaine Fontana, TRI IT
Paint
Mural with bold graphics illustrates the history of public transportation in Portland.
TRI IT
SE 17th Ave/Holgate Blvd Station
Bill Will, Passage
Steel
Thirty-eight, weathered-steel boat sculptures appear to float in the landscape along 17th Avenue, emphasizing the natural history of “brook land” neighborhood.
Shelter Columns
Lynn Basa, Journey Through Time
Glass mosaic
Roses represent Rose City Transit, predecessor of TriMet, near TriMet’s operations and bus maintenance facilities.
Journey Through Time
SE Bybee Blvd Station
Dana Lynn Louis, Crystallization
Screen printed and painted glass, etched glass, light projections
- Cupola with illuminated image of Crystal Springs serves as a beacon for the station.
- Drawings abstracted from nature are etched into elevator and windscreen glass.
- Elevator towers are bathed in colored light at night, and two light projections cast patterns on the platform.
Crystallization
Shelter Columns
Lynn Basa, Journey Through Time
Glass mosaic
Floral imagery was inspired by nearby Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden.
Journey Through Time
SE Tacoma St/Johnson Creek Station
Thomas Sayre, Kerf
Pigmented cast concrete
Two landmark sculptures, “earth-cast” on site, represent the influence of wheels on the area, from a 19th-century sawmill on Johnson Creek to the wheels of the MAX train.
Kerf
Shelter Columns
Lynn Basa, Journey Through Time
Glass mosaic
Fish swim in blue waters in recognition of newly restored Johnson Creek.
Journey Through Time
Milwaukie/Main St Station
Brian Goldbloom, Threshhold
Granite
- Carved millstones pay homage to a flour mill formerly on Kellogg Creek.
- Realistically carved streambed routes stormwater into the landscape on Lake Road.
- Station platform shelter columns are clad with trompe l’oeil vine maple tree trunks.
Threshhold
Kellogg Light Rail Bridge
Andre Caradec and Thom Faulders, Flow-Zone
Powder-coated aluminum, reflectors
Dynamic pattern of “botts” appears to flow along the underside of the light rail bridge where it crosses over the Trolley Trail.
Flow-Zone
SE Park Ave Station
Susan Zoccola, Bower
Painted and powder-coated steel
Sculpture featuring a canopy of over-sized oak leaves serves as an icon for Oak Grove.
Bower
Shelter Columns
Lynn Basa, Journey Through Time
Glass mosaic
Oak trees represent the community of Oak Grove.
Journey Through Time
SE Park Ave Park & Ride
Hilary Pfeifer, Allogamy
Western red cedar
Carved and stacked geometric forms are reminiscent of native seeds, nuts and berries.
Allogamy
Trolley Trail
Patrick Gracewood, To Grandmother’s House
Atlas cedar, paint, weathering steel
Carved female figure protected by a metal treehouse pays tribute to women.
To Grandmother’s House
Toby Johnson, Bear Catching Salmon
Sequoia
Sculptural bench with chainsaw-carved animals was inspired by native wildlife.
Bear Catching Salmon
Hilary Pfeifer, Phylogeny
Western red cedar
Contemporary totem honors animals that inhabited this region before and after settlement.
Phylogeny
Kula Design, Flow
Sequoia and steel
Stylized waterwheel symbolizes the hard work of early settlers.
Flow
Chris Papa, Sewn
Cedar, steel cable
Individual wooden panels create a unified structure, just as individuals come together to create community.
Sewn
Lee Imonen, One Tree Trestle
Douglas fir, steel
A single tree is repurposed into a trestle, serving as record of nature’s cycle of growth and change.
One Tree Trestle
