Street Trees on the New Plaza
Please pardon our mess, but we couldn’t wait to show you the dogwood trees that were planted on the new plaza area at 91st and Foster, this week. New trees are being added to the streetscape daily. With all that space, color and shade, it’s easy to imagine a scene of people enjoying the plaza, seated at cafe tables, sipping coffee and chatting.
If you talk a walk westward, just beyond the plaza, it’s easy to see the scale of the improvements being made to the west triangle of the couplet. The massive steel chevron that will serve as a retaining wall next to the pedestrian path has been installed. Many thanks to Christopher and Steve at Koch Landscape Architecture for designing great spaces for our neighborhood!
Call for Artists – Lents Town Center Mural
LTC_Call_for_Artists -click to download full annoucement
The Lents Town Center Business Development Committee in Partnership with Working Class Acupuncture is pleased to issue a call for artist’s portfolio submissions to qualify to submit a proposal to design and implement a large scale mural on the south exterior wall of the Working Class Acupuncture building located at 5814 SE 92nd Avenue in Portland, OR.
Mural artists and painters as well as graphic artists are encouraged to respond. Three artists will be selected, from the initial pool of applicants, to complete full proposals. A stipend of $200.00 will be provided to each of these three artists upon completion of full proposals.
Please submit the following by email to cora.potter@gmail.com by May 10, 2013. Use the subject heading Lents Mural Portfolio Submission.
- Submit 5 portfolio images in jpeg or pdf format that can be printed individually on 8.5×11 inch paper. Please submit images that you feel best represent the style and/or design direction of the mural you would be proposing.
- Include a brief description, not to exceed 500 words, of why you would like to complete a mural in the Lents area and your artistic approach to this project.
- A brief description, not to exceed 300 words of your approach to the planning and execution of this mural project.
Please read full Call for Artists document before responding.
Not a muralist or artist? Please consider donating to the project. We are currently fund raising to provide stipends to our top three artists who will be commissioned to complete a full proposal for the mural project. Donations can be made at http://fundly.com/artist-
Gearing Up for Monumental Change
Things are still more than a little torn apart in the couplet area and along Ramona Street in Lents Town Center. We know that construction always seems to drag on, but we assure you that this project is on schedule and well on it’s way to being completed in June. In some areas you can already see where things are coming together and there have been some areas that are exceeding our expectations, like the lovely new plaza in front of the historic Carnegie Library building created by the realignment of 91st Street.
One of the other nicer features of the new streetscape that is still in progress is the improvements to the triangular island where the couplet splits at 90th. The crossing improvements are significant, with a new pedestrian signal as well as an additional ladder crosswalk added on the south side of the triangle. But, probably the most impressive feature that will be popping up soon is the large-scale monument that will be rising out of the new landscaping in the center of the triangle. The landscaping and monument improvements will also be mirrored in the triangle to the east where the couplet converges (or splits apart if you’re west bound).
More “Signs” of Change in Lents Town Center
As you’re heading East on Woodstock Blvd, you may have noticed that two large orange signs have been posted in vacant lots along the route. And maybe, if everyone was driving the 30 mph speed limit or slower, you may have noticed that they say “What Would You Like to See?” with the web site address wwylts.com printed just below. In addition, there’s one of those crazy QR codes, that help folks that are passing by with smart phones easily access the web site as they’re walking (Not while you’re driving folks; be safe!) down the street.
The two lots are owned by the PDC and the signs are part of a new collaboration they are testing out with What Would You Like to See, with the goal of gathering community input on interim uses for the vacant sites. So, head over to the web site, add your own idea or vote for someone else’s idea that you like!