Tour of Downtown Palo Alto's Hidden Public Open Spaces (POPOS)

Join artist Lisa Van Dusen for a walking tour and participatory public artwork exploring Palo Alto's hidden public spaces.
About this Event

Tour of Downtown Palo Alto's Hidden Public Open Spaces

Some of Downtown Palo Alto's public spaces are hiding in plain sight.

Join artist Lisa Van Dusen for an engaging walking tour and participatory public artwork exploring Palo Alto's hidden Privately Owned Public Open Spaces (POPOS).

Created through agreements between the City and developers in exchange for expanded development rights, these plazas, pathways, and a spectacular garden were intended for public use. Yet many remain unmarked, largely unknown, and vastly underutilized.

Along the way, Van Dusen shares the evolving story behind Public Benefit, an ongoing public art project that reveals Palo Alto's twelve hidden POPOS. Part walking tour, part public artwork, participants will playfully activate these overlooked spaces while considering what they reveal about the role of the Public and the often-invisible systems that shape how we share.

This tour visits the seven of Palo Alto's twelve POPOS that are located downtown.

Free, accessible, and open to the Public. All ages are welcome. Participants under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

RSVPs are appreciated but not required. Day-of walk-ins are welcome.

This tour is part of , an ongoing public art project by Lisa Van Dusen that brings Palo Alto's hidden POPOS to life through playful, site-specific public activations—from tours and performances to creative experiments and moments of surprise.

Supported in part by a City of Palo Alto Public Art ArtLift Grant.

MEDIA RELEASE

Participants hereby grant permission for photographs, video, and/or audio recordings of themselves, which may be used for documentation, exhibition, publication, and promotional purposes related to Public Benefit.

WAIVER OF LIABILITY (see FAQ)

https://youtube.com/shorts/QAi7t0M5AEo?feature=share

Palo Alto Mayor, Vicki Veenker bowls a strike at the Double-Wide Sidewalk, the POPOS at 390 Lytton Avenue on the June 27th, 2026 tour of Downtown Palo Alto's Hidden Public Spaces. Yahoo!