Bike culture takes over City Hall
Posted by Jonathan Maus (Editor-in-Chief) on June 17th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
(Photos © J. Maus)
The vibe here at City Hall is buzzing with bikes.
in a parking spot in front
of City Hall.
It’s opening night of the Carfree Cities Postcard Art Show and to celebrate, conference organizers have turned City Hall into a buffet of bike and carfree culture I haven’t seen since the Made in Portland Bike Show and Art Exhibition nearly two years ago.
In front of City Hall (off of SW Fourth Avenue) bike art and culture is everywhere you turn…
“Doc” and Cliff from North Freak (Portland’s newest freak bike club) are welding together a tall bike, the Sprockettes are about to perform, famed stencil artist Tiago DeJerk is painting stencils on the ground, another artist (also in a car parking space) painting a bike-inspired scene on a huge canvas, and there’s even a “tall-bike riding seamstress” who has set up shop with her sewing machine.
There are hundreds of bikes stacked thick on every pole.
And inside City Hall, it gets even better.
Carfree-themed postcards from all over the world and works by Andy Singer and other artists are engaging and inspiring visitors. There’s free beer and live music — a veritable cornucopia of bike love.
You should come down and join us if you can!
[And stay tuned for coverage of Gil Penalosa's very inspiring keynote speech...]
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June 18th, 2008 03:37
Thanks again, Jonathan for all of your fantastic coverage. Unfortunately I had to be out of town for the first half of this week, so I am experiencing it through bikeportland. Thanks for working with the videos lately too. They add another dimension to your work.
June 18th, 2008 07:55
Not to nitpick, but I don't see anything "literally" on fire. Figuratively, perhaps.
June 18th, 2008 08:26
Lazlo... the framebuilding with hot fiery torches is what's on fire I suspect.
This looked awesome. I hope to make it to other events.
June 18th, 2008 08:26
That's funny. I was thinking the same thing.
When I was in SF for the Bay to Breakers I was walking down Market and saw a trashcan on fire...
I was expecting to see something like that in the picture.
David Cross has a funny bit about misusing the word "literally." Among his other funny bits, that is.
June 18th, 2008 11:00
Oh, I see it. I was literally looking at the top picture.
June 18th, 2008 16:26
what an awesome event!
Car Free conference rocks.
For anyone that left early - NorthFreak succesfully finished building the tallbike, and it was painted and is riding great! Hope everyone enjoyed the building exhibition. If you wanna learn how to make one (or any other kind of freak bike) yourself, get in touch with anyone in NorthFreak. We are hoping to have a public build day later on in the summer.
June 18th, 2008 20:32
Props to Mykle, shawn(girl), Crow and all the other people who made the Famous Writer's Colony great!
And thanks to (boy)shawn for bringing the Pedal Potluck Picnic to our modest car free enclave.
plus what great sound via DJ Wurster and Shawn (different boy) Waterman. Thanks for volunteering!
did anyone see if the chalk stencil is still there?
June 18th, 2008 22:02
sadly, the stencils were power washed away by this afternoon...
June 18th, 2008 23:43
This came REAL close to topping WNBR. Until you've experienced the phenom known as Tulsa City Hall, you can NOT possibly comprehend, ABSORB, the significant symbolism of bikes taking over City Hall.
June 19th, 2008 12:45
Well, I guess next time I'll just use regular spray paint...