''Thor'' is an outdoor 1977 copper and redwood sculpture by American artist Melvin Schuler, located on the

Transit Mall A transit mall is a street, or set of streets, in a city or town along which automobile traffic is prohibited or greatly restricted and only public transit vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians are permitted. Transit malls are instituted by communi ...

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

Description and history

''Thor'' is an abstract outdoor sculpture depicting

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...

, the hammer-wielding god of thunder in

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...

. Located at the intersection of Southwest 6th Avenue and Southwest Taylor Street in the

Portland Transit Mall The Portland Transit Mall is a public transit corridor that travels north–south through the center of downtown in Portland, Oregon, United States. It comprises a pair of one-way streets—6th Avenue for northbound traffic and 5th Avenue for ...

, the copper on redwood sculpture was completed in 1977, funded by

TriMet TriMet, formally known as the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon, is a public agency that operates mass transit in a region that spans most of the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon. Created in 1969 ...

and the

United States Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States and ...

. It measures x x . According to the

Regional Arts & Culture Council The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) is an organization that administers arts grants in Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas Counties that also do advocacy in the Portland metropolitan area in Oregon, United States. It evolved from the city� ...

, the agency which administers ''Thor'', "This piece served as a excellent example of Schuler's work, which is characterized by large cubic and angular sculptures achieved by hammering copper onto carved redwood. This process creates a unique and recognizable finish to his sculptures." The sculpture was previously located at Southwest 5th between Washington and Alder.

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''Thor'', Portland, Oregon
at Waymarking.com 1977 establishments in Oregon 1977 sculptures Abstract sculptures in Oregon Copper sculptures in Oregon Outdoor sculptures in Southwest Portland, Oregon Sculptures of gods Sculptures of Norse mythology Sculptures on the MAX Green Line Thor Thor in art Wooden sculptures in Oregon {{Oregon-sculpture-stub

Description and history

See also

References

External links