Touring Portland's Murals: New Discoveries

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For the past few months I've been getting a kick out of touring all the wonderful murals in Portland Oregon. This is actually my third post on the subject, which should give you an idea of just how many murals there are in this town. You can check out my post about the murals downtown and my post dedicated to Portland's east side murals. More than likely I'll do a few more posts over the coming months continuing this series. For now however, please enjoy a few murals I've come across and thought were fun to look at while touring around Portland.

NUMBER ONE.

LOCATION: Portland's downtown Chinatown district. 

This one is pretty new and it seems to have sprung up overnight. The Chinatown neighborhood has been undergoing a lot of new construction lately, with some older structures being renovated and a few being knocked down entirely. Though I'm not sure this mural really fits into the theme of Chinatown I am at least encouraged by the fact that there seems to be some color and style rising from the ashes of old structures. 

NUMBER TWO.

LOCATION: SE 12th Avenue, just north of Hawthorne Blvd.

I am willing to bet thousands of people drive by this mural every single day and very few of them even realize it is there. When heading north along 12th avenue the mural is on the right hand side right behind the Jolly Rodger sports bar. The space between the bar and the mural is so tight that if you don't turn your head at just the right moment you won't even know you passed it on by. 

NUMBER THREE.

LOCATION: Inner southeast Portland, just south of Stark street, to the east of 12th Avenue.

This one is a very new discovery for me and I am incredibly excited to have found it. It is hidden away in a dense residential neighborhood in Portland's inner east side. I only discovered it because I was meeting up with a client for lunch and happened to go down a side street hunting for parking. You'll have to forgive the poor angle of the picture however. There was a deliver truck in the way when I went to photograph the mural so I had to approach it to the side in order to get the majority of the piece in the frame. 

NUMBER FOUR.

LOCATION: The back of Music Millennium record shop just off of East Burnside Street.

This piece holds a pretty special place for me. It's located on the back of one of my favorite record shops in Portland, Music Millennium. This place is pretty much a Portland institution as far as I'm concerned with live performances on a regular basis and a great staff that loves to just chat about awesome music. It's only fitting that they have one of Portland's coolest murals on the back of the building! 

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Alexis Kennedy

My name is Alexis Kennedy, welcome to my site! I have a passion for making images wherever and whenever I can. I seek to capture humanity and the world around me with a focus on the figure. Film, digital, pinhole, and instant photography are all fair game for me.


I grew up in the California Bay Area and started taking photography seriously in High School. I was one of the lucky few who had a chance to go to a high school with a working darkroom and a teacher who understood that making images was an art form – care and patience was a necessity in the image making process from start to finish.


Later in life I attended the University of California in Santa Cruz where I received a Bachelors Degree in the History of Art and Visual Culture. After having my fill of the California sunshine I packed up my life and moved to the Pacific Northwest. I quickly found the overcast skies, lush forests, cooler temperatures, and creative communities to be a perfect match for my work.


Over the years I have exhibited my photographs in several galleries and art shows including the Seattle Erotic Arts Festival and Cascade AIDS Project. I’ve published a few books and taught workshops up and down the west coast of the United States. Through this site I’m hoping to share my work and perhaps inspire others along the way.