(VIDEO) ‘The Music’ brings a splash of color, culture, celebration to TriMet’s FX2-Division corridor 

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Mural painted by the community as part of FX2-Division Grand Opening Celebration, becomes permanent fixture along TriMet’s first FX bus line

There’s music in the air at Southeast 42nd Avenue and Division Street. Crews working with TriMet completed installation of Angelina Marino-Heidel and Joel Heidel’s mural, “The Music,” last week. The striking artwork, which is one of the finishing touches of the Division Transit Project, rises outside the Cascadia Health building. The mural was painted by the community, as part of our FX2-Division Grand Opening Celebration last September. On any given day, TriMet’s distinctive, long, green FX buses pass this location nearly 200 times, giving our riders a unique view of the art on display.

Art, “Music” for Southeast 42nd and Division

“The Music” consists of four panels and covers 432 square feet outside Cascadia’s Plaza Health Center

“The Music” was developed to honor the completion of the Division Transit Project, which laid the foundation for TriMet FX® — Frequent Express, a first-of-its-kind transit service for TriMet and our region. It splashes across four panels, covering 432 square feet of the exterior of Cascadia’s Plaza Health Center. The artwork towers some 28 feet above ground, with views available from both the east and westbound FX stations on Division Street, down below.

An FX2-Division bus serves a station near “The Music,” at Southeast 42nd Avenue and Division Street

As FX buses travel the 15-mile corridor from Gresham, through East and Southeast Portland to Downtown, the mural calls attention to “the diversity of cultures represented through the cacophony of music and dance within the area’s vibrant neighborhoods,” says Marino-Heidel. The piece includes references to textiles and materials used by indigenous peoples, Asian lanterns to represent the Jade District and flowers that symbolize commerce and wealth in African culture. 

Painted and shared with community

“The Music” was painted by the community during TriMet’s FX2-Division Grand Opening Celebration

Not only does the mural offer a connection between TriMet and the vibrant communities we serve, the community came together to create the mural itself. It was painted by hundreds of people as part of TriMet’s FX2-Division Grand Opening Celebration, held in three locations last September 17, which were tied together by the new FX2-Division line. We collaborated with the artists to create a paint-by-numbers palette, to bring their vision to life. Everyone who came out to the event was invited to participate and leave their mark on TriMet’s most significant transit improvement project since opening the MAX Orange Line in 2015.  

Partners from start to finish

The mural fittingly came together as one of the final tasks of the $145 million Division Transit Project, and we thank our project contractor, Raimore Construction, for their partnership from start to finish. Raimore Construction, which is a certified disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) and minority-owned business, met significant milestones with the Division Transit Project, including receiving the award for the largest DBE-contract in Oregon history, as well as achieving more than 75% overall DBE participation in the project, setting a new TriMet record for major projects.

Ride TriMet FX!

An FX2-Division bus stops at a station in Southeast Portland

TriMet’s FX2-Division is a faster and more efficient, high-capacity bus service for our region, with longer, 60-foot vehicles; transit priority lanes and signals; and buses arriving every 12 minutes for most of the day. FX runs daily, with service from about 4:30 a.m. – 1:00 a.m. Learn more and plan your trip at trimet.org/fx.