This spring, Eliot neighbors will once again gather to refresh the landmark intersection painting.  “Eliot Community Crossing” is at the corner of NE Rodney Avenue and NE Tillamook Street  It will be an experience you will not want miss, filled with painting, eating, music, and fun for the whole family.   Join us and invite your friends and family to share in this memorable and unique Portland experience. This will be the last repainting for two years due to sewage repairs in 2017.

This is a great opportunity for young and old to help create a beautiful community project. Lunch will be provided and also there will be live acoustic music from local musicians. Bring your instrument to play along!

Why paint the street?

The intention of the Eliot Community Crossing is twofold. First, serving to encourage and create an opportunity to deepen neighborly relationships in our quickly densifying neighborhood. Second, it naturally elicits a sense of pride and identify for all that pass through while speaking to Eliot’s urban model for integrating art, enhancing neighborhood values and improving the quality of life in the neighborhood.

What does the image represent?

The floral center design represents the growth, friendship and beauty in our community. In the southern quadrant of the painting, musical notes remind us of our neighborhood’s vibrant jazz culture. The western and eastern quadrants depict the gears of the bicycles that flow through this intersection which is the convergence of two greenways.  Finally, the northern quadrant represents the community gardens that have sprung up along our streets, as well as those we cultivate in our own yards.

When is this going to happen?

We do not have a definitive date  identified for the re-paint block party yet. The official identified date once solidified will be listed on the Eliot Neighborhood website and on the Eliot  Neighborhood Intersection Painting Facebook group page.

How can you help?

This fun event requires much in the way of volunteer hands, supplies and equipment to make it a success:

• Canvassing leads to knock on doors, acquire signatures, and distribute event information
• Painting leads throughout the weekend
• DJ/MC and Musicians to spin and/or perform
• Setup, paint and logistics volunteers
• Volunteers to help with kids directed activities
• Large yogurt containers and tofu tubs (start saving them now)
• Old tarps
• Large pieces of cardboard
• Large folding tables
• Use of trash and recycle bins
• And much more!

It takes months of planning and the involvement of the many within our Eliot village to make this fun event a success.  We look forward to sharing in the rich experience bringing back to life this community space!

For more information, or if you are interested in working with us, please contact Jeri at:

Email: EliotPainting@gmail.com
Text: (503)522-9136
Facebook Group: Eliot Neighborhood – Intersection Painting

By Jeri  Stein “Bee“