In August 2022, The Dalles was the site of Northwest Mural Fest, a four-day event that resulted in 14 new murals painted around town.
The city now boasts new art depicting several lives and significant events of the area’s history, including how The Dalles got its name. The text in the feature image above reads:
French Canadian voyageurs named tight, rocky water channels after the flagstone gutters that ran down the middle of cobblestone streets. The grandes dalles (long narrows) and petit dalles (short narrows) were considered two of the most treacherous rapids on the Columbia River. A footpath circumvented the rapids, followed by a portage railroad and the 1915 Dalles Celilo Canal first direct water link between middle and upper river. The Dalles Dam, built at the foot of the Grande Dalles, inundated the rapids, canal, and Celilo Falls when it went into operation March 10, 1957.
ADDITIONAL MURALS
Ben Snipes, Northwest Cattle King
Eleanor Borg, 1911-2011
Educator of youth, dance and horseback riding.
The Dalles Chinatown
A large and vibrant Chinese community.
H.L. Davis, 1894-1960
An Oregon-born author, Harold Lenoir Davis was famous for writing captivating descriptions of the changing northwest, often mixing historical facts and humor in his works. He is best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning "Honey in the Horn". He is also well-known for his poetry and popular short stories.
Jeanne B. Hillis
Long-time resident, artist and pilot, Jeanne B. Hillis is well-known for her interpretation of the petroglyphs that lined the Columbia before the building of the dam system.
Chief Tommy Thompson, c.1855-1959 & Chief Henry Thompson, 1898-1978
Chief Tommy Thompson dedicated much of his later life to stopping The Dalles Dam project. The abundant fishing available at nearby Celilo made it an important hub for native tribes in the region for thousands of years. It is estimated that 15 to 20 million fish passed through the falls every year. The falls were permanently submerged by the backwaters of the dam. Tommy died two years after the dam's construction, when his son Henry then became chief.
Be sure to spend some extra time in The Dalles when visiting to check out these murals and all the others!