Yesterday morning, while Anthon's Restaurant & Bakery in East Liberty was quiet, the owner, Theresa Sabilla, walked over to the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway to see the new paintings of her stepdaughter and granddaughter.

	Bill Wade, Post-Gazette Kyle Holbrook, executive director of the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway Community Mural Project, laughs with Bob Qualters, in front of his part of the East Liberty Station mural. Other murals are being produced around the city. Click photo for larger image.

"I think it's wonderful. I've seen our customers over there," Mrs. Sabilla said about the mural of faces along the busway wall that starts at Ellsworth Avenue, runs along Shady Avenue and ends at Penn Avenue.

There is a portrait painted on each of the 200 brightly colored wall panels. The portraits are monochromatic, sort of like a black-and-white photocopy of a picture in which the contrast has been set really high.

The mural is part of the largest public art project in recent city history, said Kyle Holbrook, the owner of KH Design, which obtained funding to paint 24 murals in eight neighborhoods this summer with the help of 100 youths.

Mr. Holbrook, 29, who lives in his studio in Homewood, said Los Angeles and Philadelphia have had mural projects that span decades, but not a single project to create all of the murals in one summer.

Mr. Holbrook's mural project is being paid for by local foundations including The Heinz Endowments, Grable Foundation, Pittsburgh Foundation, Laurel Foundation, August Wilson Center for African American Culture, Multicultural Arts Initiative and National City Bank.

The 100 youths are working with 30 artists and site managers to bring the artists' concepts to reality; 65 youths will earn $1,000 for five weeks of steady work. The others will be paid an hourly wage.

Two murals are being painted at the East Liberty/Shadyside site along the busway. One is the work of Robert Qualters, 73, of Squirrel Hill, who, with the help of youth volunteers, is painting three views of the busway based on a 1987 painting of his.

The mural of the 200 community faces is the concept of Kelly Blevins, 22, of Dayton, Ohio, who is studying graphic design at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. To carry out the idea, youths attended art classes through the program and then took pictures of people in East Liberty and Shadyside . Once the wall was primed, Ms. Blevins gave her workers pictures to recreate on the wall.

Israel Johnson, 17, of Beltzhoover, who is painting one wall, is also featured in Mr. Qualter's mural. Despite her picture on the wall, she said the best thing about the job is when she gets a chance to get into the shade.

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Bill Wade, Post-Gazette Brandon McClester, 16, of Lincoln, finishes cleaning up Tuesday at the 800-foot mural around the East Liberty busway station along Shady Avenue. Click photo for larger image.

"Good job," Denise Parker, 57, of the Hill District called out as she tried to cross Shady Avenue and look at the wall at the same time. "I might get killed looking at it," she said after narrowly being missed by a car.

She stopped for a moment to talk to Ms. Blevins, who asked if she could take her photo for the wall.

"My kids won't believe it. They'll love it," Ms. Parker said about being featured on the wall. "I'm going to tell everybody 'Go look at the wall across from the Giant Eagle.' "

"I didn't recognize myself," Laura Gormon's, 43, of Avalon, said when she brought her stepmother, Mrs. Sabilla, over to see the mural. But Ms. Gormon's 5-year-old daughter, Anna Barbra Winkleman of Swissvale, recognized her mother immediately. Anna Barbra was also excited to see her own likeness on the wall.

Mr. Holbrook said his workers have until Saturday to finish the job. When the first 14 murals of the summer will be completed, new crews will start on 10 more.

Six of the murals will face the Martin Luther King Jr. East Liberty Busway. In addition to East Liberty and Shadyside, new murals are going up in Edgewood, the Hill District, Homewood, Oakland, Swissvale and Wilkinsburg.