Portland is known for its quirky character that’s built on vibrant art culture and history. Murals paint our streets, the blood of Portland’s bizarre heart, driving the famed motto of “Keep Portland Weird.” But how Portland looks now with rich artistic statements thrown on street corners was not always the case, and it was not until 1948 that street art first appeared in the city.
The Lovejoy Columns were the first forms of local street art to pop up in Portland. The Lovejoy Ramp was originally a viaduct to the Broadway Bridge. Now the only thing that remains of it is a handful of columns that depict one of the most famous pieces of Portland’s art history.
Athanasios “Tom” Efthimiou Stefopoulos was a Greek immigrant who arrived in Portland in 1910, looking to start a new life and pursue his passion of painting.
Stefopoulos would move all around the United States, searching for work and success while chasing his love for painting. Eventually, he found himself working at a railyard as a night watchman for SP&S (Portland, Spokane and Seattle) Railyards. While he was working, he found himself painting the hours by. Using the columns of the Lovejoy Viaduct, Stefopoulos used pieces of chalk and paint to nurture his love for the arts.
His art incorporated a style of Greek mythology depicting owls, lions, deer, landscapes and the famous Greek philosopher Diogenes of Sinope. “When trains stop at crossing, waiting for other trains to switch, I climb on top of boxcar next to [the] painting, reach out like this, and paint. Sometimes, when I’m not finished, the train wait a minute — I paint — then climb down and wave her on,” said Stefopoulos in a 1967 interview. Stefopoulos painted around a dozen murals between the years of 1948 through 1952 and created his legacy as the first graffiti artist of Portland.
The murals would not only inspire future artists but it was also featured in movies like Gus Van Sant’s Drugstore Cowboy (1989) and Elliott Smith’s Lucky Three (1997). However, in 1999, the city of Portland declared a redevelopment of the Pearl District, which would end up engulfing the Lovejoy Viaduct and Stefopoulos’ work with it. Even though his actions were technically illegal, many Portland artists and residents fought to preserve his art.
Situated between Everett Street and Flanders Street and running along 10th Avenue, two pieces of the Lovejoy Columns sit in Memorium. Replicated work of Stefopoulos depicts his original pieces and the mythological style that he practiced. Stefopoulos may not have known it then, but his passion was the original spark of Portland’s art scene and culture for generations to come.
Now, Portland is one of the major hubs for eccentric art in the United States and is home to almost 106 murals and an ever-growing community of artists that uphold Stefopoulos’ legacy. “The [Portland’s] art culture is very inviting. I just started being a part of the art
culture last year, and I found some good communities. It’s very encouraging and everyone wants to help each other,” said Karis Bohn, a local artist who creates woodburning and art pieces for her small business, Creative Karisma.
“Portland is super rad in terms of being artists because what you need to make art and do creative things is you need a lot of support, you need time and an environment where you can be confident in yourself,” said Katie Sullivan, art teacher at Ida B. Wells. Portland is known to endorse self-expression, and the art community in the city amplifies that principle. Exploring identity is the key point of art, and it truly gives Portland character along with a look into other people’s minds.
Not only does art help show a piece of ourselves, but it can also help exhibit our values. “I feel like what I really like about Portland during the BLM (Black Lives Matter) protests and COVID was the young activists who used art in that movement,” said Sullivan. “They created a lot of alternative places to meet up, make art, share their voice and protest.” Not only do we see artistic statements in 2020, but we also saw them this year during the teacher’s strike. Teachers like Sullivan and fellow students designed and hand-printed t-shirts and signs that said “support teachers” to advocate for educators during the PPS (Portland Public Schools) teacher strike, showing the true strength art can hold.
Portland’s art culture has really grown since Stefopoulus’ first mural underneath the Broadway Bridge, and now we can see how impactful art can be on people’s lives. Both a passion and a statement, art comes in many forms, and the people of Portland’s art culture are always ready to spread and share their love for the arts.
