Port Townsend City Council approves Uptown street murals

Published 1:30 am Friday, May 22, 2026

PORT TOWNSEND — The Port Townsend City Council approved Jefferson County Farmers Markets murals to be located on the middle of Tyler Street and on the crosswalks at the intersection of Tyler Street and Lawrence Street.

The murals, which include images lining the sides of Tyler Street, along the market corridor, at the center of Tyler Street and at crosswalks at Clay Street and Lawrence and Tyler streets, are themed to represent and affirm local farmers, local food systems and the LGBTQ+ community.

The murals are the first to be brought to the council since a 2021 ordinance created a pathway for street art to be approved by the city.

“I came to this project from a place of safety,” Jefferson County Farmers Markets (JCFM) Executive Director Amanda Millholland said.

The Port Townsend Farmers Market’s information booth is set up near to the intersection of Lawrence and Tyler streets.

“I’ve seen so many people drive through Tyler and Lawrence streets when the farmers market is happening,” Milholland said. “I have to hope that it’s not happening all the time, that it’s just happening for some reason during farmers market hours. My theory is that there’s something about having a road closed sign at the Tyler and Lawrence intersection that causes people to not see the stop signs.”

Milholland said she’s seen people pushing strollers, others using walkers and people walking slowly nearly hit by vehicles.

Before she moved back to Port Townsend, her hometown, Milholland lived in Portland, Ore., where she said the city has used street art as a way of controlling traffic.

“It’s been used both as a way to increase public awareness of intersections and also of communities that live around those intersections,” Milholland said.

The art for the Tyler Street mural was designed by artist Aliina Lahti in collaboration with Milholland.

“It’s looking at our food system, it’s celebrating our local farmers and farmers markets,” Milholland said.

The murals have gone through planning processes at the city already, Milholland said.

“They were the ones who said, ‘Take the carrots out of the white lines,’” she added.

In addition to illustrated produce lining each side of the street and three crosswalks at Clay Street, crossing Tyler and Clay streets, there will be a mural in the middle of Tyler Street.

“The central image is a farmer’s hands holding the earth,” Milholland said. “Around it are fruits and vegetables and salmon jumping.”

The colors of the murals are a continuation of the LGBTQ+ rainbow colors from the four crosswalks at Lawrence and Tyler streets, which were designed by Port Townsend Pride Event Coordinator Kerri Kitaji.

While many people submitted public comment in support of the art, many of the submissions were unsigned, said Jason Victor Serinus, who spoke on behalf of Port Townsend Pride.

“I thought about that,” Serinus said. “There are a lot of people in this community who are staying undercover, because they’re trans and because they feel that there’s a target on their back.”

Serinus noted that the Seattle LGBTQ Commission recently declared a state of emergency.

“Trans people and LGBT people in general are fleeing southern states and red states, and they’re coming to states like Washington,” Serinus said. “Fifteen percent of the people leaving are estimated to come to rural areas. There’s no housing, the services are overtaxed and people are desperate.”

Serinus said he sees the crosswalks and the food system murals as acts of affirmation.

“We are affirming, as a community, the importance of the land, of water, of food, of the people who give us sustenance. We are honoring them with this mural,” Serinus said. “We are not just honoring the old LGB, we are honoring trans people, we are honoring people of color, we are honoring intersex people.”

The design highlights the chevron, which was added onto the side of the traditional rainbow stripes to represent marginalized members of the LGBTQ+ community in 2018. Rather than being added to the end as an afterthought, Serinus said, the crosswalks will feature the chevron at both ends and in the center.

“The statement is, ‘This is not just about good-old vanilla gay boys like me. This is about all of us.’” Serinus said.

Three of the crosswalks, which will be dug up in a Lawrence Street project, initially will be painted with more affordable and temporary paint, Serinus said.

The process included review by Public Works, the Historic Preservation Committee and the Port Townsend Arts Commission (PTAC), said Katie Goodman, the city’s arts and culture coordinator.

The project also was awarded a $1,500 PTAC grant, pending council approval, according to city documents.

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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman@peninsuladailynews.com.