Stefopoulos Square

A proposed urban plaza for the preserved paintings of artist and Greek immagrant Tom Stefopoulos on the salvaged and repurposed Lovejoy ramp columns. In Pearl District.
– Size: Two plaza’s spanning the railroad crossing at approx. 3,000 sf each

For a Portland neighborhood transforming from industry to commerce, we proposed a colossal railroad-crossing gateway and urban plaza using salvaged concrete bridge columns from a demolished traffic viaduct. Fifty years earlier the columns were painted with murals by the Greek immigrant artist Tom Stefopoulos while he worked as a watchman at this crossing. The Murals depict a forest of mythical figures and lyrical characters. We focused public attention on the salvage, reuse and history of the painted columns through a series of performances, planning and design proposals, and temporary installations.