I’ve heard people refer to Salem as “The Gateway to Oregon,” and I think we are capable of being so much more than that.
It sounds flattering at first thought, but think about what it really means. A gateway isn’t a destination. It’s something you pass through on your way to somewhere else. A “gateway” is a community that always wants to leave to go somewhere else, never feeling quite at home. That label might have fit us once, but it doesn’t anymore. We are capable of being so much more that “The Gateway to Oregon,” we can be THE destination. We can turn this city into the place where others want to be.
We have lots of serious investment happening in our town. New local owners of our downtown mall and theater. New developments with The Holman Hotel, The Forge and JC Pennys. New restaurants like Clink, Cozy Taberna, or Adobe.
Salem isn’t a pit stop anymore, it’s becoming a destination. It’s home to artists, entrepreneurs, small business owners, and families who care deeply about this city. It’s time the rest of Oregon saw what’s happening here.
I believe we can redefine Salem’s identity through two things that bring people together everywhere: art and music.
It’s time for us to become “Salem: The City of Murals and Music.”
Imagine what new murals could do for downtown.
Not ads or logos, but real works of public art — created by local artists, painted on the sides of local businesses that volunteer their walls. One might tell Salem’s history. Another could celebrate its people. Others might rotate every few years, bringing new color and conversation to familiar streets.
Each mural would be a postcard for our city — bold, visible, and uniquely ours.
Boise tried something similar years ago. What began as one artist painting a doorway turned into Freak Alley, now one of the most visited destinations in Idaho. Shops opened nearby. Tourists came downtown just to take photos. The area became part of Boise’s identity.
We could do that here. Five murals in the first year. That’s where it starts.
The cost to start isn’t staggering — roughly $30,000 total for artist pay, materials, and equipment for 5-6 murals. That’s small enough to fund through existing city cultural grants or Oregon’s Arts Commission programs.
When you compare that to the economic boost public art brings — more foot traffic, more pride, more people spending money downtown — it’s a bargain.
Now imagine the sound to go with it.
Every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night, downtown Salem comes alive with live music. Three bands, three genres, three different venues. Each performance each night will be different genres — blues at one place, country at the next, and HipHop at the next.
Musicians would earn $400 per night for a two-hour set. Half paid by the venue. Half matched by a community or city fund. It’s a fair wage, shared responsibility, and a sustainable way to make Salem’s nightlife vibrant again.
That’s more than 400 live performances a year — by local musicians, for local audiences.
Boise painted its walls. Nashville built its sound. Salem can do both.
The numbers back it up.
A study by Americans for the Arts found that the average person attending a cultural event spends about $38 on dining, shopping, and parking beyond admission. Multiply that by just 300 people coming downtown on a music night, and you’ve got over $10,000 circulating in the local economy in a single evening.
Culture doesn’t just lift spirits. It grows economies.
And what begins as five murals and a few live music nights can evolve into a true cultural district — one that defines downtown as a place of energy, not emptiness. That’s what thriving cities do. They invest in creativity because it pays dividends no spreadsheet can measure.
Now, we want your help to make it real. This isn’t just an idea — it’s a campaign. Here’s how you can help bring murals and music to Salem:
- Sign our letter of support.
Add your name to show you want to see this happen. You’ll also get updates about community meetings, city proposals, and progress as we move forward. We don’t know the perfect solution, but we ARE committed to driving this initiative forward and doing what it takes to make it happen.
Sign it here: Change. org
- Follow us on social media.
Find us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok — @sbjoregon on all platforms. We’ll be posting updates, design concepts, artist spotlights, and ways to get involved. Follow us to be invited to our meetings to discuss how to pay for this, different strategies or approaches we can take, or different ideas if we are wrong. Our coal is simply to make Salem a great place to own a business and start a family, and I believe this could get us there.
- Join us.
Roll up your sleeves and be part of something new. We’ll be hosting public meetings to brainstorm funding, coordinate with the city, and bring together artists, businesses, and residents who want to make Salem cool again.
This project won’t belong to any one organization. It’ll belong to all of us. To the business owner who offers their wall. To the musician who fills a Friday night with sound. To the residents who show up and say, “This is what Salem can be.”
We don’t need to be Portland. We don’t need to copy anyone else’s vibe. We can be the capital that leads with creativity. A city that welcomes visitors but is built for its people first.
Giant beautiful murals painted on our downtown buildings. Three nights of live music a week, with three performances each night.
That’s how we start.
If we get this right, Salem won’t be a gateway anymore. It’ll be a destination — a city painted in color, filled with sound, and proud of what it’s becoming.
Now let’s make it happen.
