Is The Mural By Your House Protected By Federal Law?

Portland had over 1,500 "grandfathered" murals, but how many still exist is unclear.

By Enid Spitz

The Michael Brown memorial mural in this week's cover story was one of over a thousand "grandfathered" walls around the city. These walls can be re-painted without going through the legal hoops that the City requires for public signage or art. Officially called "nonconforming use" walls, they are exceptions to current signage laws.

A roster of every muraled wall that the City could find was compiled in 1998/99, when the laws for signs changed.

Related: Can Federal Law Save This Threatened Black Lives Matter Mural?

Here, we've mapped them all. Some are more artistically interesting. All of them retain "grandfathered" rights so long as they haven't been painted over and left blank for 6 months or more.

We have not checked on every wall. You can, though.

See if there is a grandfathered wall near you that still exists, keeping in mind that some murals might have changed, and some might not look like art murals at all.

If you see a wall near you that still has art on it please leave us a comment.

Murals in Northeast:

Murals in Southeast:

Murals in Southwest:

Murals in Northwest:

Murals in North Portland:

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