Downtown art holes up during Transit Mall work

TriMet plans to move some of the pieces around once construction is completed

By Mariah Summers

The Portland Tribune, Jul 15, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (8 Reader comments)

Courtesy of TriMet

Downtown Transit Mall art work is in storage during TriMet’s construction project. The pieces will again be placed on the mall — not necessarily in their original locations — when the project is complete.

Renovation of the downtown Transit Mall prompts a parade of questions from many Portlanders: Which streets will be closed today? Who is paying for all of this? When will the downtown traffic nightmare end?

Others may wonder what’s happened to the 12 works of public art that lined the streets before the construction started. They include “Cat in Repose” by Kathleen McCollough, a favorite with children, and “Kvinneakt,” the nude sculpture made famous by a pre-Mayor Bud Clark in the widely circulated “Expose Yourself to Art” poster.

Mary Priester, TriMet’s public art manager, said the existing public art sculptures have been temporarily removed during construction, but will return when the work is completed next year.

“The artwork will be coming back to the area after some of the construction is finished,” Priester said.

But not necessarily to their original locations. Instead, some of the sculptures will be relocated at sites TriMet believes will provide the best public viewing.

Before they return, the art will be cleaned and refurbished. But just where the sculptures are currently being stored is a secret.

The removals were necessary because of the extensive work needed to run a new light-rail line along Southwest Fifth and Sixth avenues from Union Station to Portland State University. In some places, the sidewalks where certain works sat have been narrowed.

Security concerns kept Priester from revealing where the art was being stored, and the Regional Arts and Culture Council – the Portland-Multnomah County agency, which is responsible for the temporary storage – also was tightlipped about the location.

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