Crews began removing a four-story glass-and-bead installation from Portland City Hall on Tuesday, Sept. 29.

"Suspended Migration," Dana Lynn Louis's sprawling work of sculpted wire forms covered in more than one million glass beads, is coming down from the north atrium after ceiling anchors failed inspection this year. The failure prevents conservators from safely reaching the piece for routine cleaning and repairs, according to the city's Office of Arts & Culture.

City staff and the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) reviewed options and concluded Portland lacks the resources to maintain the installation. RACC's Public Art Committee recommended removal after the Office of Arts & Culture brought the maintenance problems forward. City staff accepted that recommendation, pulling the piece not only from the building but from Portland's permanent public art collection.

Louis created the installation in 2004, according to the city's announcement, as a farewell gift to Mayor Vera Katz. Katz, who served from 1993 to 2005, died in December 2017. The piece fills the atrium at 62 feet tall and 27 feet across, incorporating glass, mica, velvet, oil drawings and sculptural wire forms alongside the beads, according to the artist's website.

It was never meant to stay. The city originally treated "Suspended Migration" as a temporary installation, but it became a fixture of the building and eventually entered the permanent collection.

City staff informed Louis of the removal and said they will consult with her about the future of any components that are retained. No plans to replace the atrium installation have been announced.

The removal does not leave City Hall without new art. In 2026, Portland installed "Salmon and Stars," a carved wood piece by Chinook artist Greg A. Robinson, outside council chambers. Robinson, a self-taught carver and Chinook Nation member, has work in the Portland Art Museum and on the Tilikum Crossing bridge, OPB has reported.

The three-day removal runs through Thursday, Oct. 1.