Artist Blaine Fontana Type Mural | Year 2015 (2015) Medium Paint | |
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Location Portland, Oregon, United States | ||
Tri It (stylized as TRI IT and also known as the TriMet Mural) is an outdoor 2015 mural by Blaine Fontana, painted outside the TriMet Bus Maintenance Facility in Portland, Oregon, in the United States.
Description
Tri It is a 1,250 square foot mural by Blaine Fontana, with assistance from Gage Hamilton, David Rice, and Zach Yarrington, painted outside the TriMet Bus Maintenance Facility and across from the MAX Orange Line's Southeast 17th Avenue and Holgate Boulevard MAX Station in Portland's Brooklyn neighborhood. It depicts the history of the city's public transit. According to TriMet, a public agency that operates mass transit in a region that spans most of the Portland metropolitan area, the painting portrays the agency's "central role in local public transit history at the site where various transportation companies have served the public for over 100 years. Despite the predominant car culture, the region's transportation system has long been a beacon of pioneering spirit, inspiring the nation with its bicycle, pedestrian, streetcar, bus, and light rail connectivity."
The mural is a timeline and moves forward chronologically, beginning on the east end of the wall along Southeast Holgate Boulevard, which depicts the westward expansion that began prior to 1872. Sections of the mural illustrate Portland's public transit improvements. TriMet logos and historical milestones are also displayed. The mural ends around the corner on Southeast 17th Avenue with a depiction of Tilikum Crossing (2015). The artist has said of the piece, "Like most of my murals, TRI IT is about making a positive impact and connecting people. When a piece can spark an ongoing dialogue, it brings pride and connection to a neighborhood. I hope TRI IT helps create a visual identity for Brooklyn that the community is proud to call its own."