Franklin Ave Murals by multiple artists

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This mural is part of an intersection full of wonderful murals. It’s across the street from a plaza with murals that surround a central gazebo. It’s also across from another wall of murals on Wood St.

Update August 2014
We’ve been riding back to all the artwork we discovered last year to check on them. Some of the murals have been removed since we were last there. A few of the buildings that had murals on them were demolished, taking the artwork with them, so we were very pleased to find this huge display was still intact and still in good condition.

When we first found this intersection full of art we were overwhelmed. I don’t know how long we spent staring and photographing it, but it wasn't long enough! This time we approached the area from a different direction and discovered that we had completely missed the art on the far side of one of the buildings! It never occurred to us to search for more art than what we were seeing at the time. Lesson learned.

The side of the building that we completely missed last year.

We decided to add some more photos of the details. There’s just so much on each of these murals, that you have to stop and look at each image to really appreciate it all.

Swissvale Mural by Nick Hohman, Ashley Hodder

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There’s a lot going on in this mural. We see a lot of everyday people doing everyday things, but we were particularly intrigued by the old steel or iron worker playing chess (or checkers) with the very nondescript person in the upper left corner. Is the muscular form behind the hardhat Joe Magarac – aged like our own steel and iron industry is, but still a presence in the community? Maybe we read too much into it. Maybe it’s just a grandfather that once made his living in the mills and now enjoys his grandkids?

For over 100 years, the Union Switch and Signal plant operated in Swissvale. Lots of inventions and innovations for railroad warning and signaling were developed and manufactured here. Gone in the mid 1980’s, it’s closing left mixed feelings toward the railroad industry. No one denies the history or impact on the community, but when the company closed down here many were left with conflicting sentiments of nostalgia and resentment. The mural includes a train top center, but shows the transition to the bus (the mural is directly across the street from the East Busway stop) and to alternate means of transportation with bikes and walking.

There are lots of small details that reflect everyday life and activities in this neighborhood. Positive images of family and community make this a very uplifting mural.

Abolitionist and activist Jane Grey Cannon Swisshelm is sometimes thought to be this borough’s namesake, but that isn’t quite true. We’ve read that it’s actually named for her father–in–law, John Swisshelm, who owned the farm here and served under Washington in the Revolutionary War. According to the Borough of Swissvale’s website, Jane is the one that named the area Swissvale. They don’t mention if it was named for the family or not. The nearby neighborhood of Swisshelm Park however, is named for Jane. Never the less, we were told that Jane was one of the figures in this mural. Jane Swisshelm was a strong minded woman who’s actions and political writings had impact far beyond this region. A strong opponent to slavery, Jane supported the underground railroad and published many articles in support of the abolitionist movement.

Garden-themed Mural by Ashley Hodder

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Up on Mt Washington, a few blocks back from the scenic overlooks, there was a fence covered in graffiti at a troublesome intersection. Ashley Hodder was commissioned to paint a mural on this fence with the guidelines of something bright, colorful, and with a garden theme. The objective was to draw people back toward this section of the neighborhood, and at the same time eliminate the blank canvas that kept attracting the unwanted graffiti.

Ashley created a vibrant scene of poppies, bees and birds. We asked why she chose poppies and she explained how she wanted the mural to have a sensation of movement and needed a flower with a contrasting center to achieve it. She pointed out how the dark centers acted a bit like musical notes to lead your eye across the fence. In addition to that, there are bees and a bird that help to move your focus left to right. A darker band of flower buds interspersed with the blooms will then lead you back across the fence from right to left.

It's a beautiful scene and it seems to accomplish it's goal. It drew us up the street to see it and when we got there we saw a clean, landscaped intersection. No graffiti - only a great mural.

Welcome to Mt Lebanon by Ashley Hodder

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There had been an old billboard here, but the business that it advertised had closed and the owner now wanted to sell advertising space to multiple businesses. Instead of just a rectangle filled with ads, the artist suggested a more subtle approach. She designed an old-fashioned post card with the businesses included in a street scene of the neighborhood.
They invited the community to decide on the images to use inside the letters spelling out "Mt Lebanon".
In an online vote, the residents chose what they felt represented their neighborhood best:

• high school sports
• the K-9 division of the police force
• the farmers' market
• an image of their retired fire chief
• gardening (pride in their landscaping)
• sports and recreation
• walking (They have no school buses here and promote walking.)

In the background you'll see the local high school as well as the Mt Lebanon logo.
The businesses that are included pay for the advertising, and that funds the mural. As advertisers change each year the mural gets updated to reflect the new businesses. A very creative and attractive way to advertise.

UPDATE May 2014
We definitely noticed the changes in the businesses featured in the mural. The modifications were done seamlessly. There are no glaring differences in the intensity of the colors. Unless you knew what had been there previously you probably wouldn’t realize that anything had been changed.

Ivy Inn Mural by Ashley Hodder

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This building on the corner of Castle Shannon Blvd and Cypress Way was in need of some sprucing up. The community got together and decided on a mural for Pittsburgh's 250th anniversary. Artist Ashley Hodder opted to showcase one of the city's famous landmarks and used Phipps Concervatory as the inspiration. With the business next door being the Ivy Inn, she incorporated ivy through the tranquil scene of plants and water beneath a domed glass greenhouse with blue skies above.

Jazz Greats by Kyle Holbrook, Chris Savido, Ashley Hodder

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Chris Savido designed this mural to show what you might have seen when you peaked through the keyhole into the New Granada Theater. The New Granada Theater was once a thriving center of Jazz in this country. Everybody who was anybody in Jazz performed here. All the greats like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Lena Horne and countless others frequented this theater and it's Savoy Ballroom.

With Ashley Hodder's help, Chris created the crowd watching the show using many local celebraties in the front row. They include August Wilson, a local baseball player from the Homestead Greys, and other local figures past and present.

The New Granada Theater has seen better days. It was once the most important building on Centre Ave and it was designed by the first known African-American architect in Pittsburgh – Louis Arnet Stuart Bellinger. If you go to see this mural it's just east of the theater. There are plans underway to restore this building and once again make it a center of activity in the Hill District neighborhood. The mural of Jazz Greats is a great reminder of what it once was and might be again.
Summary:
Artist(s): Chris Savido, Ashley Hodder
Address: 2037 Center Ave
City: Pittsburgh (Hill District)
Zip Code: 15219
Organization:
PghMurals@gmail.com
Twitter: @PghMurals

The Bride on Penn Ave by Judy Penzer, Jill Watson

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Rumors abound:

• ...bride's last glance back before leaving forever
• ...referd (sic) to as the runaway bride. She is running back into the house, not looking back.
• ...of a bride leaving a house (and crying).
• ..going back into the house... whether she'd forgotten something or someone, or the wedding had been put off, or...
• ...inspired by a ghost story of a bride that died either before or right after a wedding.

The truth is all of the above and none of the above. According to The Bulletin (A publication of the Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation) Judy Penzer never reveled what it was about, saying it's whatever you think it is. Even the title of the mural came from others. When Mz Penzer was told it was being referred to as The Bride on Penn Ave she made that the title.

The mural was commissioned in 1995 by the Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation (BGC) and completed in 1996. In 2011 it was in need of restoration, but the original artist could not do the work. Sadly, she was killed in the crash of TWA800 along with Jill Watson (who had designed the mural). The BGC then hired local artist Ashley Hodder to take on the restoration work. She contacted a restoration expert and with an assistant, set about to clean and chemically treat the mural. The process would re-bond the molecules and let the original colors come through again. She then had to re-attach each small paint chip that was peeling away from the wall. After than she used an isolation coat in order to separate the original work of art from the portions that she would have to touch up where the paint had already flaked off. With the isolation coat in place her restoration work could be removed without affecting the original artwork.

Today the mural is a local landmark. The row of houses like the one depicted in the painting is now referred to as Bride Row. Originally there were nine identical, three story homes here. The most easterly one had a commercial addition added in the 1960's. The mural uses the remnants of that original house to re-create itself in the mural. If you look closely you'll see that most of the side of the house in the mural isn't painted – it's actually the original brick of the real house.  Along with the mural, the eight other homes are considered a distinct architectural landmark for the area and there is a proposed project to restore and preserve the front facades and porches in this row.

Update: July 2013, Bride’s Row caught fire. No information yet as to whether this will affect any plans that might have still been in the works for restoring the facades of these old homes. We rode by to confirm that the mural was OK. We didn’t get an up–close look, but to our non–expert eyes it appeared to have been spared damage.

Summary:

Artist(s): Judy Penzer, Jill Watson, restoration by Ashley Hodder
Address: 5463 Penn Ave
City: Pittsburgh (Garfield)
Zip Code: 15206

PghMurals@gmail.com
Twitter: @PghMurals

East Busway Mural by multiple artists

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This mural is only visible from the busway or from Tay Way or College Ave where it wraps behind the Tokyo Japanese Food Market off Ellsworth Ave in Shadyside. It's worth the effort to find a vantage point to see it.

Multiple artists contributed to this mural. Originally the theme was to be nature related, or all natural, to complement the business it was done on (Whole Foods). While it appears that most of the mural strayed from that original concept, the striking image of Mother Nature on the left side was done by Ashley Hodder.

Since you can't get very close to view this, I'd suggest you take a telephoto lens or a pair of binoculars in order to see the detail work. It's pretty fabulous. It reminds me a lot of Bev Doolittle’s work.

These next images were created by Michelle Gregio. She provided the following two photographs, taken while the mural was being painted.

The busway figures were done by Laura Jean McLaughlin. There’s a dramatic difference in the colors from the photo above (provided by Ms Gregio while the mural was being worked on). At some point the bus and other details in this section of the mural must have been repainted for some reason.

Summary:

Artist(s): Ashley Hodder, Michelle Gregio, Laura Jean McLaughlin, Kyle Holbrook
Address: 5880 Centre Ave
City:Pittsburgh (East Liberty)
Zip Code: 15206
Organization: MLK Community Murals Project

PghMurals@gmail.com
Twitter: @PghMurals