PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – A local artist is painting empty storefronts and encouraging those walking or driving by to imagine…what if?
As you walk along Brownsville Road in the Borough of Mount Oliver, bright art murals in empty store windows are sure to catch your eye.
“Just making your windows look better can make a big difference,” says artist Maria DeSimone Plascak. “There was definitely something more that needed to happen here.”
DeSimone Plascak said she hopes the art will not only catch the attention of passersby, but also people who want to start a business.
“So we’re staging a business district, right? If you buy a house, you walk in and everything is staged. Basically, we’re staging this community. ” she said. “It gets people’s attention.”
The nonprofit Hilltop Alliance works with 11 neighborhoods in Pittsburgh’s South Hilltop area and has partnered with DeSimone Plaskak of the Mount Oliver neighborhood to inspire potential small businesses through art.
“We just started this series last month,” said Meg O’Brien, director of economic development for Hilltop Alliance. “I’m doing it,” he said.
DeSimone Plascak also has close ties to this region.
“I grew up here, so I remember when there was something going on with every business here,” she said. “Doing this is very close to my heart because I’ve lived here for 42 years. I love that different generations and young people come from all over the country.”
She wanted to use her talents and skills to help grow downtown, one mural and one vacant storefront at a time.
Now, DeSimone Prascak is preparing to begin the next mural for the deli.
Several people have already contacted us interested in opening in other vacant storefronts.
Mt Oliver is also experiencing much more traffic than usual as Bex Run Road is closed for construction.
