Eugene Whiteaker Hostel Murals

The Whiteaker Hostel has murals, yes it does.  Located at 970 W. 3rd Avenue in the Whiteaker neighborhood, its vivid exterior complements the community’s artistic and eclectic spirit.

This neighborhood is filled with colorful folks and is alive with art, music, great food, an awesome micro-brewery (Ninkasi) plus the best veggie burger I’ve ever tasted is served up at the Garbanzo Grill nearby.  It also faces the challenges of drug and alcohol-driven crime.  Powerful art energy such as this helps brighten the atmosphere and outlook of this high potential neighborhood.

This commanding portrait is signed by Dan Donovan

Emerald City Mural

 This colorful mural is located behind the WOW Hall and spices up an otherwise drab parking lot.  The mural faces Lincoln Street between 7th & 8th Avenues.  

The artists’ names are listed under the banner of “Youth Mural Collective”.  Sweet!

Mural at the CAT

It’s been called the most noble of all human inventions. No, not the mural; it is the bicycle.   Bikes are at the center of all the activities at the Center for Appropriate Transport (CAT) and it’s there that you can see the mural pictured below.

This mural is another work by the talented artist Kari Johnson that’s located on the side of the CAT building at the corner of 1st Avenue and Washington Street.  

The CAT is an amazing organization that houses Eugene Bicycle Works, Peddlers Express, Human Powered Machines, Eugene Rack Works and also Education & Youth Programs. The CAT describes itself as:


“… a non-profit organization committed to community involvement in manufacturing, using, and advocating sustainable modes of transportation. The first organization of its kind, the Center was founded in Eugene, Oregon in the fall of 1992. Since that time, we have established a number of projects under one roof designed to further this mission.”

The CAT is also one of my favorite places in Eugene.

Tibet Mural

Located on Willamette Street and 15th Avenue, this is another splendid mural painted by Jim Evangelista.  

I’m transported to an exotic and foreign place whenever I gaze upon this luscious painting.

You can click on the above image (and all other images in this blog) to see a larger version. 

There is also an appearance by one of my favorite peace advocates and world leaders, His Holiness the Dalai Lama.


"Hard times build determination and inner strength. Through them we can also come to appreciate the uselessness of anger. Instead of getting angry nurture a deep caring and respect for troublemakers because by creating such trying circumstances they provide us with invaluable opportunities to practice tolerance and patience.”
                                                                                           HH Dalai Lama XIV

The west side of the building has another mural that depicts what, to me, looks like a monk painting the side of a building.  


"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion." 
           HH Dalai Lama XIV

A Mural Grows in the Whiteaker Neighborhood

I’m used to finding established murals and also, sadly, sometimes aged and deteriorated ones, so it was a delightful surprise to come across one that is brand-new and “growing”.  It’s located at the corner of 4th & Monroe St. and it caused me to think about the role that murals play in our community.  I see murals as a positive indicator of the health and vitality of a neighborhood.  Their presence is proof that talented, creative and expressive people are engaged and empowered in the community.  It also shows that these creative spirits care enough about a place to adorn it so. 


Murals are a gift to the public.  Nobody is charging to see them and everybody, from all walks of life, gets to enjoy them on a daily basis for free.  Where they flourish, they become a colorful part of our everyday lives.  Murals possess an almost magical power to transform a place and the people who live and visit there.  Murals can challenge the viewer to dream, wonder and consider new ideas.  They almost always beautify and often reinforce community values.  The best of them become iconic symbols of the community and focal points of local pride.  

It’s going to be fun watching this emerging mural grow and develop and hopefully I’ll see more of its siblings popping up around the city.  

Morning Glory Café & Growers Market, 2 for 1 Deal

Located so close that they touch I decided to present these two buildings together.  They’re right across the street from the train station at the end of Willamette Street.  

There are murals on the outside of the Morning Glory Café and great food inside.   They specialize in vegan and vegetarian fare, serving breakfast and lunches seven days a week.

This is on the north side of Morning Glory.

A detail of the north side mural.

Right next to Morning Glory is Growers Market.  The upper mural is signed by Kate Thompson and dated 1976. 

This one is signed by Kiki Metzler.

The west side of the Market building looks like it’s ripe for a mural.  

The south side of the same building is encased in a living mural. 

A Mural at the Fair

Although it’s not located exactly in Eugene by those who adhere to strict Euclidean rules, I’m including this mural from the Oregon Country Fair because the OCF is located squarely in the hearts of so many Eugeneacs. The fair’s offices are located in Eugene while the fair itself takes place in Veneta, 12 miles west of Eugene.  

This was my first Oregon Country Fair and I hope it will become the first of many. It was a colorful, musical, magical and totally fun experience. And it was by far the best run fair that I’ve ever attended. It was like being magically transported back into the best of the 60s: Peace, Love and Understanding.

Living murals? 

As the afternoon light grew long, the fairies (both young and old) were hovering a bit lower to the ground but still they all had broad smiles on their faces.  

On my way out of the fair at the end of the day, I was delighted to come across this beautiful mural.  A fine ending to an exquisite day!

The Deer in the Park

I first came across this mural while riding my bike through the Washington/Jefferson Park last summer.  Now I always make a detour to view it whenever I’m in the area.  It’s located near 4th and Jefferson.  A little googling revealed that it was painted by Kari Johnston.  I haven’t learned when it was painted but I could find references to it as far back as February 2006.

Eugene’s murals often speak to strong environmental connections and concerns and this one is a good example of that ethos. 

On the back of the “Deer” pillar, Johnson encourages us to think.  That admonishment combined with the timeless gaze of the celestial deer is a powerful inducement.

This peaceful scene appears on the side of the mural.  The scale and nature of the dwellings in the painting show balanced relationship between people and nature.  Whether it’s a portrayal of our past or our future is left up to the viewer to decide.

This plea, prayer and an inducement all wrapped up in one, appears on the side of pillar. 

To me the Deer feels like a guardian spirit that looks out over the park, offering solace to all who fall within its gaze.  

Base Coat

I moved to Eugene Oregon just about a year ago. I was looking for a community to join and a place to settle after a spell of traveling.  What I was hoping to find was a town big enough to have great music, art, culture and great food but not so big that it overwhelmed its inhabitants. I also wanted to move away from my car-centric way of living to a life scaled in human dimensions. To me this means being able to walk or ride my bike to most of my important places: farmers market, live music, theater, restaurants, art cinemas, yoga, tai chi and beautiful parks. I’d long heard great and wondrous things about the Northwest, and Eugene in particular enjoys a reputation for being one of the most bike friendly places in the country.

I am now living in Eugene, gratified to be in such a fine city but what does this have to do with murals?  Nothing and everything. I had heard a lot of cool things about Eugene before moving here but one thing I didn’t hear about were the many beautiful murals scattered throughout the town. Those are the unexpected gems that I’d like to show my appreciation and gratitude for, those unsung treasures. I’ve noticed that some of the murals have deteriorated a bit over the time I’ve been enjoying them. It is my hope that this project will help in the preservation and appreciation of these works of art.

The first mural of this project is located on 12th and High St; it's one of my personal favorites, a section of which I’ve chosen for the banner of this blog. It’s called Tuscany and was painted by Jim Evangelista, the founder of Reality Kitchen, an organization that teaches real world skills such as food prep, nutrition, workplace safety and budgeting to special needs adults.  Jim landed in Eugene with his family in 1992. They had traveled here in their converted school bus from Florida, arriving on the first day of the Oregon Country Fair. He got his first commission, the Tuscany mural, soon after his arrival.  


I love several things about this mural above and beyond that it's a lovely painting. I love that it’s so unexpected. You’re driving along 12th Ave, you happen to look right when it hits you hard and then it’s over in a flash. A good reason to walk or bike around downtown Eugene instead of driving.
Or you might be headed up High Street when you glance left and wham! - you’re magically transported to another time and another place.

I was lucky to find out who painted this mural and a little bit about the artist.  I don’t expect that will always be the case. If anyone reading this has any additional information or corrections, I hope you’ll take the time to use the comments feature of this blog to fill us all in.

Thanks!