Public Art on Westside MAX Blue Line

When the MAX line was extended from downtown Portland to Hillsboro in 1998, project staff formed the Public Art Program to oversee the design and installation of art elements.

Collaborating with architects and engineers, the artists created over 100 permanent art elements, bringing individual identity to each of the 20 stations and honoring the history, culture and landscape along the line.

The Westside MAX project has received numerous awards and recognition for its design.

Hatfield Government Center Station

Christine Bourdette's theme "Gathering and Dispersal" relates to agriculture as well as public transportation.

A sculpted bronze rail features local plants and products
Drawings on glass evolve from a tangle of vines to a basket weave
Granite balls appear to roll out of bronze baskets
Miles Pepper's scarecrow weather vane fends off crows and turns an interior seedpod

Hillsboro Central/SE 3rd Ave Transit Center

Hillsboro design team artists honor everyday life in a people's history of Washington County.

Photographs and bronze objects celebrate local heritage
"Voices" in the platform are taken from actual writings
A plank road is replicated in the vestibule
A letter from the 1870s appears on the glass
Historic photos appear in the bus shelters
Keith Jellum's weather vane recalls bygone train signals

Tuality Hospital/SE 8th Ave Station

Hillsboro design team artists used the theme of light, hope and healing to connect the station with the nearby hospital.

300 bronze swallows accompany a Shakespeare quote
A photograph of Tuality Community Hospital's founder appears on the glass
Jane Kies contributed the illustrations for the "Quilt of Traditional Remedies"
Medicinal plants grow nearby
Swallow weather vanes by Miles Pepper top the shelters

Washington/SE 12th Ave Station

Linda Haworth developed the theme "Sweet Home and the Garden of Life."

Neighbors created over 650 tiles for the wall and bench
A mosaic of birds in flight covers the bench
Planters are shaped like traditional cheese making kettles
A colored path looks like carpet
Local photos appear on the glass
Nate Slusarenko's weather vane resembles a souvenir snow dome

Fair Complex/Hillsboro Airport

Hillsboro design team artists celebrated the pride of achievement.

An ivy-covered trophy boasts "The World's Greatest"
"Tree rooms" provide shady resting places
Photographs from past fairs appear on the glass
Historic model airplanes by Glen Geller and Curt Oliver spin over an aerial view landscape

Hawthorn Farm Station

Patrick Zentz translated the local topography into sound.

Tone bars sound as the train approaches
Dennis Miller and Intel collaborated on a map that indicates wind direction with sound and light
Sounds from a nearby wetlands are projected
A diagram on the glass gives clues about the artwork

Orenco/NW 231st Ave Station

Hillsboro design team artists celebrated trees and the history of Orenco.

Granite rings contain text by Kim Stafford
A path leads to an old oak grove
Branch benches are by Nancy Merritt
Pages from a 1908 nursery catalog appear on the glass
A path illustrates the nursery's grafting technique
Stuart Keeler and Michael Machnic's hand-forged tree sits on the building

Quatama/NW 205th Ave Station

Hillsboro design team artists explored the quest for understanding the natural world.

A river-like path includes boulders with scientific images and a basin showing the mechanics of rainwater run-off
Animal tracks cross the platform
A map of the Tualatin River watershed appears on the glass
Michael Oppenheimer's "Cattail Tunes" sway with the wind

Willow Creek/SW 185th Ave Transit Center

Westside design team artists imagined passengers reading under the cherry trees.

"Living room" furniture is sandblasted with literary names
Authors and characters are hidden in tile puzzles
Letters from the world's alphabets are scattered in the concrete
Christopher Rauschenberg's Time Window documents the 1994 landscape
Brick patterns recall falling cherry blossoms

Elmonica/SW 170th Ave Station

Westside design team artists and Don Merkt echoed the common act of transplantation—moving objects, plants and people from their original environment to a new place.

Three brick carts symbolize transplanting, transporting, transforming
Words with the prefix "trans" are arranged in a circle
Brick and rail "rugs" suggest tracks
Christopher Rauschenberg's Time Window documents the 1994 landscape
Paul Sutinen designed the "Elmonica" gate and the path to the maintenance facility
On the path, "welcome mats" greet visitors

Merlo Road/SW 158th Ave Station

Photo of artwork at Merlo/SW 158th Ave Station

Fernanda D'Agostino designed imagery and an accessible trail to connect the station with a nature park.

Windscreen images contrast the natural and man-made
Flagstone "rugs" complement seats
An aerial photograph of the site was taken in 1994
A map shows bird migrations
The Merlo Path features trail markers, perching poles and boulders with images

Beaverton Creek Station

Westside design team artists and Anne Connell designed the "navigation station."

Passengers mark time and contemplate the universe with a 24-hour clock and a map of the solar system
Stars are arranged in constellations
Two compass roses indicate true north
"Eastbound" and "westbound" appear in 11 languages
Brick patterns suggest borders on old maps
Christopher Rauschenberg's Time Window documents the 1994 landscape

Millikan Way Station

Trees, wetlands and the nearby Tektronix campus inspired the Westside design team artists' theme of nature bumping up against high technology.

Brick patterns suggest coniferous and deciduous trees
The songs of local birds are etched in bronze
Clusters of leaves, seeds and pine cones appear in 30 locations
Test patterns and mathematical symbols on graph paper are created in terrazzo
Christopher Rauschenberg's Time Window documents the 1994 landscape

Beaverton Central Station

Westside design team artists used the phases of the moon as a symbol for change in Beaverton.

Abstract brick patterns appear on the side of the building
Four brick and quartzite "rugs" add a homey quality
Two phases of the moon become seats
Christopher Rauschenberg's Time Window documents the 1994 landscape

Beaverton Transit Center

Photographer Barbara Gilson and students Katie O'Malley and Petra Prostrednik from C.E. Mason Arts and Communications High School collaborated on a series of photos.

Humorous portraits express styles of waiting
Local landmarks appear as snapshots
Christopher Rauschenberg's Time Window documents the 1994 landscape

Sunset Transit Center

Westside design team artists collaborated with architects to recognize the area's rural past and technological future.

Weathered steel "ribs" are like remnants of a bygone era
An ornamental fence echoes the grasses around the station
Two large mounds at the east entry are planted with wildflowers

Washington Park Station

Westside design team artists took inspiration from geology and mining at this collaboratively designed station.

A basalt circle the diameter of the tunnel reveals facts about mining
The magnitude of time is expressed in the Core Sample Timeline
Circular stools mimic the core samples
Light boxes shimmer with fossil-like images
Some elevator door images are animated when the doors open

Goose Hollow/SW Jefferson Station

Photo of artwork at Goose Hollow/SW Jefferson St Station

The Goose Hollow neighborhood is celebrated by the Westside design team artists.

Houses and buildings rise up from tile "streets" to form seating
Goose wings stretch across the canopy
A house searches for a "home"
A fictitious resident comments on change in the neighborhood
When the sun shines, buildings in the glass line up with the "street"

Kings Hill/SW Salmon Station

Photo of artwork at Kings Hill/SW Salmon St Station

Westside design team artists acknowledged neighborhood history here and along 18th Avenue.

Joel Weinstein's text tells about Tanner Creek buried 40 feet below
Matt Wuerker drew stories and illustrations in the sidewalks along 18th
Carolyn King and students from Lincoln High School designed the fence along Lincoln's playing field
A bronze goose by Rip Caswell was commissioned by the neighborhood association

JELD-WEN Field Station

Westside design team artists used the buildings and plaza to express the importance of oratory to the city's history.

Robert Sullivan supports the theme with an original essay
Bronze podiums invite spontaneous oratory
Punctuation marks form seating and accents on the Yamhill platform
Windows light up at dusk

Westside MAX Public Art Advisory Committee

Bill Allen
Howard Aaron
Gary Baker
Michelle Biehler
MaryAnn Cherrier
Mike Eidlin
Joy Gannett
Terri Hopkins
Carolyn King
Michael Knutson
Connie Letamendi
Bob Packard
Joan Shipley
Ralph Tahran
Tuck Wilson
Judith Wyss