Tigard’s long-awaited downtown plaza! 


Downtown Tigard
Universal Plaza
Planned to open in 2022, Universal Plaza will be a place for everyone—a community gathering spot in the heart of downtown Tigard that celebrates our shared humanity and our one shared planet.

What’s New?

• Universal Plaza (9110 SW Burnham St) is now open for the public to explore!
  Please follow standard COVID guidelines. Face coverings are required (for those over 5 years old) when social distancing cannot be maintained. Art installations are not sanitized.
• Become a Design Advisor!
  We've started imagining many beautiful things that can happen here — and planning for a few of them! Your ongoing engagement can help us design the best possible plaza for all of Tigard. Sign-up to become a Design Advisor!

Participate, Activate, Engage!
One day, Tigard’s Universal Plaza will be a cherished public space, with areas for everyone to gather, play, and make memories. While we wait for that day, the site can still help us engage our imaginations about public life and public space. Art can happen here, originating both from our local community and well beyond.

It's All About the Art

Musical Bench by Artist Jill Torberson  

• Universal Plaza is home to three temporary bench installations that engage visitors by encouraging them to make their own music or take a seat. 
• Made available by Washington County Commissioners, and Tualatin Valley Creates as part of the Musical Benches Public Art Collection.
• Jill Torberson, of Weld Metal Works, specializes in metal and steelwork and has created site-specific and historically relevant artworks on both large and small scales. 

Apple Box Seating by Asami Morita

• Playful moveable pieces allow visitors to place the seats anywhere on site. Allowing everyone to enjoy the plaza while remaining safe and socially distant.
• The benches are inspired by Apple Boxes — wooden boxes used by event and
  film crews to stack and prop up various pieces of equipment.
• Asami Morita is a model maker and fabricator.

Large Scale Ground Mural 
Universal Plaza now features a temporary brightly colored, 34,000 square foot ground mural. Local muralists Susan Charnquist, Liam McLaughlin and Emily Lux, all led by Raziah Roushan have created a fun, bright, and jaw-dropping ground mural that is already drawing attention from the Plaza’s business neighbors and downtown visitors. 

Haiku Projections
A rotating selection of community generated haikus will be displayed in lights on the adjacent building from 4-10pm every night.

What's Happening Right Now?
Watch the live feed!  Or check out the timelapse video captured from the onsite camera.