Sight #3 Lovejoy Columns

Lovejoy Columns

316 NW 10th, Portland, OR (link is external)

Lovejoy Viaduct Plan, 1927

The Lovejoy Viaduct (or Lovejoy Ramp) was constructed between 1927 and 1928. Its purpose was to allow traffic on Lovejoy to cross over railway yards and get to the Broadway Bridge. The viaduct started at the intersection of 14th and Lovejoy and terminated at the west approach to the Broadway Bridge. It was removed in 1999 as part of development plans for the NW Portland industrial area. Lovejoy was rebuilt at street level and a new, short ramp to the bridge was built from NW 9th and Lovejoy.

Between 1948 and 1952, Athanasios Efthimiou "Tom" Stefopoulos drew upon the columns supporting the viaduct in chalk and later painted them. Stefopoulos painted about a dozen murals representing Greek mythology and Americana imagery in a calligraphic style. When the viaduct was demolished, ten of the columns were removed and stored for preservation. In 2005, two columns were sited and interpreted on NW 10th between Everett and Flanders.

The Lovejoy Columns remind us both of the urge we humans have to produce spontaneous art in urban environments and of the constant revision of those same environments.