Robot Alley | |
---|---|
Artist | Robert B. Fortney |
Completion date | Ongoing |
Medium | Mixed media |
Movement | |
Location | Portland, Oregon |
45°33′15″N122°40′22″W / 45.55418°N 122.67282°W |
Robot Alley is an art installation by Robert B. Fortney, located in an alley off Skidmore Street in Portland, Oregon, United States. The installation started as a security system and has become an attraction. It depicts Star Wars characters including Stormtroopers, droids, and Sith lords.
The interactive installation Robot Alley is located in an alley off Skidmore Street, between Borthwick and Kerby Avenues, [1] in the north Portland part of the Boise neighborhood. It depicts Stormtroopers, droids, Sith lords, [2] and other Star Wars characters. The project started as a DIY security system and has become an attraction. [3] [4] [5] The installation has cameras, facial recognition technology, a fog machine, LED lights, microphones, motion sensors, and a plywood AT-ST Walker by local artist Mike Bennett. Robot Alley's creator Robert Fortney, who is also a film editor, [6] sometimes appears as "alter ego" character Plastorm, wearing armor and a helmet inspired by The Mandalorian. [7]
Robot Alley was included in the Los Angeles Times 's 2023 list of twelve family-friendly activities in the Portland metropolitan area. [3] Neighbors to the alley have reacted positively, stating that it has cut-down on crime (as originally intended), and increased the sense of community. [7]
R2-D2 or Artoo-Detoo is a fictional robot character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. He has appeared in ten of the eleven theatrical Star Wars films to date, including every film in the "Skywalker Saga", which includes the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy. At various points throughout the course of the films, R2, an astromech droid, is a friend to C-3PO, Padmé Amidala, Anakin Skywalker, Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. R2-D2 and his companion C-3PO are the only characters to appear in every theatrical Star Wars film, with the exception of Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018).
C-3PO or See-Threepio is a humanoid robot character in the Star Wars franchise. He is a protocol droid designed to assist in etiquette and translation, and is fluent in over six million forms of communication. The character appears in all nine films of the Skywalker Saga—which includes the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy. Anthony Daniels portrays C-3PO in all the Skywalker Saga films and the standalone film Rogue One, and voices the droid in the animated film The Clone Wars. In addition to films, C-3PO appears in television series, novels, comics, and video games.
Tatooine is a fictional desert planet that appears in the Star Wars franchise. It is a beige-colored, desolate world orbiting a pair of binary stars, and inhabited by human settlers and a variety of other life forms. The planet was first seen in the original 1977 film Star Wars, and has to date featured in a total of seven Star Wars theatrical films, three live-action television series, and four animated series.
The Clone Wars, also known as the Separatist Crisis, is a fictional conflict in the Star Wars franchise by George Lucas. Though mentioned briefly in the first Star Wars film, the war itself was not depicted until Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005). The Clone Wars are also the setting for three eponymous projects: a 2D animated series (2003–2005), a 3D film (2008), and a 3D animated series. They have featured in numerous Star Wars books, comics and games.
General Grievous is a character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. He was introduced in the 2003 animated series Star Wars: Clone Wars, before appearing through computer-generated imagery in the 2005 live-action film Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Wood reprised the role in the 2008 animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the 2024 anthology series Tales of the Empire.
HK-47 is a fictional droid in the Star Wars franchise. Introduced in the 2003 video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, he is an extremely efficient assassin droid constructed by Revan to assist them in hunting Jedi, until both have their memories wiped and made to serve the Jedi themselves. Voiced by Kristoffer Tabori, HK-47 reappears in the 2004 sequel, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, the Trials of Obi-Wan 2005 expansion pack to the massively multiplayer online game Star Wars Galaxies, and the 2011 MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic, as well as various other novels, short stories, comics, and video games in the Star Wars Expanded Universe.
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords is a role-playing video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by LucasArts. It is the sequel to BioWare's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and was released for the Xbox on December 6, 2004, for Microsoft Windows on February 8, 2005, for OS X and Linux on July 21, 2015, for Android and iOS on December 18, 2020 and for Nintendo Switch on June 8, 2022. Like its predecessor, it is set in the Star Wars universe 4,000 years before the events of the film Episode I: The Phantom Menace and is based on the d20 System developed by Wizards of the Coast.
The 501st Legion is an international fan-based organization dedicated to the construction and wearing of screen-accurate replicas of Imperial stormtrooper armor, Sith Lords, clone troopers, bounty hunters, and other villains from the Star Wars universe. The 501st Legion, called by its nickname Vader's Fist, is made up entirely of volunteers.
The video games Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003) and Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (2004) features a large cast of characters noted for its diversity and is the subject of significant discussion from gaming magazines and websites.
Old Town Chinatown is the official Chinatown of the northwest section of Portland, Oregon. The Willamette River forms its eastern boundary, separating it from the Lloyd District and the Kerns and Buckman neighborhoods. It includes the Portland Skidmore/Old Town Historic District and the Portland New Chinatown/Japantown Historic District, which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It has been referred to as the "skid row" of Portland.
A Star Wars Pez is a Pez candy dispenser themed after the Star Wars movies, and is one of the company's most prominent merchandising deals. Approximately 100 dispensers have been released on the market from 1997 to 2023, among the many collectibles spawned by the franchise.
Darth Maul is a character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. He first appeared in the prequel film Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999). Maul returned in the animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels (2014–2018), as well as the standalone film Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018). Lucas had intended for Maul to feature in the sequel film trilogy, but these plans were discarded when Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012.
Clone troopers are fictional characters from the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. First introduced in the live-action film Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002), they have since appeared in various other Star Wars media, including Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) and the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels (2014–2018), Star Wars: The Bad Batch (2021–2024), and Tales of the Jedi (2022–present) as well as comics, novels, and video games set in both the Star Wars Legends expanded universe and the current canon.
Wookiees are fictional humanoid aliens in the Star Wars universe, native to the forest planet Kashyyyk. They are distinguished from humans by their gigantism, hirsutism, and physical strength. The most prominent Wookiee in the films is Chewbacca, the co-pilot of the Millennium Falcon, and best friend to Han Solo.
"Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II" is a 2008 episode of the television comedy series Robot Chicken, and the sequel to the Annie Award winning "Robot Chicken: Star Wars", which aired as a one-off special during Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block on November 16, 2008. Like "Robot Chicken: Star Wars", it has been released on its own DVD on July 21, 2009, and will not be part of a season box set. The DVD contains the original broadcast version, and the "Extended Version", which features an additional 15 minutes of footage cut from the broadcast version. It was nominated for a 2009 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program.
Star Tours – The Adventures Continue is an attraction located at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris. Set in the Star Wars universe, Star Tours – The Adventures Continue takes passengers on a turbulent trip across the galaxy, as droids C-3PO and R2-D2 attempt to safely return a spy to the Rebel Alliance.
"Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars" is a one-hour long crossover episode of the American animated series Phineas and Ferb, featuring characters from Star Wars. The 41st broadcast episode of the fourth season and the 215th broadcast episode overall of the series, it aired on July 26, 2014, on Disney Channel and later on Disney XD on August 4, 2014. The episode's plot, while not considered canon in the Star Wars timeline, is a retelling of the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope in the style of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, where the Phineas and Ferb characters interact with the Star Wars characters.
The Portland Skidmore/Old Town Historic District is an historic district in Portland, Oregon's Old Town Chinatown neighborhood, in the United States. The approximately 20-block area, center around Burnside Street and named after the Skidmore Fountain, is known for exhibiting Italianate architecture, though High Victorian Italianate, Renaissance Revival, Richardsonian Romanesque, and Sullivanesque styles are also present. In addition to Skidmore Fountain, structures within the district's boundaries include the Blagen Block, Delschneider Building, Hallock and McMillin Building, New Market Theater, New Market Alley Building, New Market Annex, and Poppleton Building.
Coraline's Curious Cat Trail was a temporary art installation in Portland, Oregon, United States. The series featured 31 fiberglass statues of cats decorated by various artists, inspired by the 2009 animated film Coraline, which were installed across the city during August 2 – October 13, 2024. Following public display, the sculptures were auctioned off, with proceeds benefiting Oregon Health & Science University's Doernbecher Children's Hospital. The project was a collaborative effort by the hospital, Laika, Downtown Portland Clean and Safe, Visit Downtown, and art installation producer Wild in Art. The final designs were selected from 80 submissions. Sponsors included The Oregonian and Wieden+Kennedy.