Lovejoy Columns

Lovejoy Columns
Lovejoy Columns
	The columns in April 2013
Artist	Athanasios Efthimiou "Tom" Stefopoulos
Year	1927–1928 (constructed); 1948–1952 (murals); 2006 (resited);
Location	Portland, Oregon, United States
	45°31′32″N 122°40′52″W / 45.52557°N 122.68102°W

The Lovejoy Columns, located in Portland, Oregon, United States, supported the Lovejoy Ramp, a viaduct that from 1927 to 1999 carried the western approach to the Broadway Bridge over the freight tracks in what is now the Pearl District. The columns were painted by Greek immigrant Tom Stefopoulos between 1948 and 1952. In 1999, the viaduct was demolished but the columns were spared due to the efforts of the architectural group Rigga. For the next five years, attempts to restore the columns were unsuccessful and they remained in storage beneath the Fremont Bridge.

In 2005, two of the original columns were resited at Northwest 10th Avenue between Everett and Flanders Streets. The Regional Arts & Culture Council was searching for photographs showing the murals in their original location for an ongoing restoration project. In 2006, Randy Shelton reconstructed the artworks on the columns using the photographs for reference.