Portland's giant crow sculptures guide visitors across 30 landmarks

Thirty hand-painted crow sculptures, each nearly six feet tall, have landed at landmarks across Portland as part of a public art trail running through Oct. 30.

"Wildwood: Follow the Crows" launched Aug. 7 with a ribbon-cutting at St. Johns Library. The trail ties into LAIKA's upcoming stop-motion film "Wildwood," based on the fantasy novel by Portland author and The Decemberists musician Colin Meloy, illustrated by his wife, Carson Ellis.

The novel is set in Portland, with Forest Park standing in as the "Impassable Wilderness." St. Johns is home to the story's main character, Prue McKeel.

The fiberglass-and-steel crows stretch from Pioneer Courthouse Square and City Hall to Pittock Mansion, the International Rose Test Garden and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI).

Three sculptures along the Wildwood Trail create a roughly three-mile route through Forest Park, according to the Portland Tribune.

A companion app lets visitors track down all 30 birds, scan codes at each base for fun facts, and vote for a favorite. The trail is free to explore.

Organizers received 214 design submissions after putting out a call for artists in March, The Oregonian reported. Sponsors selected 30 artists, who spent between 10 and 50 hours each decorating blank crows with house paint and paint pens at a communal studio nicknamed the "Crow's Nest."

The group ranges from muralists to a botanist to an incoming Portland State University student. Tristan Irving, a multidisciplinary artist whose work has appeared at the Portland Art Museum, painted "The Shape of Us," which stands at Pod Plaza near Powell's Books.

"I love that this project gives people a reason to get outside, explore Portland, and interact with art in a different way," Irving told Oregon ArtsWatch.

At OMSI, muralist Allison McClay's "A Murder Huddle" features dozens of smaller crows covering the large sculpture. Near the Tilikum Bridge, Stephanie Hower Derheimer, an administrator at the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) Doernbecher Children's Hospital, painted "Stash."

Her design includes items crows like to collect: bottle caps, bread ties, pop-can tabs and lost jewelry. Derheimer has worked at Doernbecher for about 14 years and also participated in the 2024 Coraline's Curious Cat Trail.

That predecessor trail drew an estimated 135,000 visitors and raised $324,500 at auction for OHSU Doernbecher, with an estimated $4 million economic impact downtown.

Ellis, who designed the St. Johns Library crow's map, spoke at the Aug. 7 ribbon-cutting about the hospital's personal meaning. Her son received care at Doernbecher's autism clinic, and she said the fundraiser connection felt "very meaningful," according to KGW.

Mayor Keith Wilson championed the City Hall installation, where Maya McDarragh's "Sakura Hanami" stands through Oct. 30. The city's Public Environment Management Office coordinated permitting across three bureaus.

Not every crow has had a smooth landing. Less than a week after the trail opened, the sculpture "Paul Birdyan" at Pride Plaza was apparently vandalized, painted over with black splotches and its hat removed, The Oregonian reported. Sydney Mead, senior director of downtown programs at Downtown Portland Clean and Safe, said the crow was receiving repairs.

The full flock gathers for a Farewell Weekend on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 at Darcelle XV Plaza. On Nov. 15, all 30 sculptures will be auctioned individually, with proceeds going to OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital.

Upcoming trail events: