Swissvale is becoming something of an outdoor museum this summer.

Three new public murals celebrating the neighborhood's past and present are in the works and should be completed in coming weeks.

	Post-Gazette Ashley Hodder and Kyle Holbrook add the finishing touches to the mural at the Port Authority bus station in Swissvale. Click photo for larger image.

Last week, the neighborhood celebrated the start of work on a mural along Monongahela Avenue at the building that houses the China House II restaurant.

The 2,500-square-foot mural by Michigan-artist Anthony Purcell will prominently feature a golden locomotive engine chugging through a flowery residential neighborhood while birds soar in the blue sky.

It is one of eight murals being painted around Pittsburgh this year as part of the Sprout Public Art Program. It is being done in conjunction with the Swissvale Economic Development Corp., which acquired grant funding for the artwork.

Swissvale Mayor Deneen Swartzwelder, who is a member of the development corporation, said she is excited about the mural.

"I think public art is a great way to share our past and present," she said. "This will certainly brighten up the building and the corridor."

Two other murals in Swissvale -- part of the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway Community Mural Project -- are also in the works.

Work also began recently on a colorful mural on a garage near the Roslyn Street Station designed by artist Nick Hohman, of Edgewood. It depicts the people, places and things in Swissvale today, including images of a bus, bicyclists, a boy and his dog, basketball players and more.

A second busway mural examining the history of Swissvale will be painted near the Washington Street bridge in coming weeks. Two historical figures included in the design by the project's education director Ashley Hodder are the abolitionist Jane Swisshelm, for whom Swissvale was named, and the industrialist George Westinghouse, who owned numerous factories in the region.

The busway initiative incorporates the designs of accomplished artists with the talent and individual styles of 100 young art students from area high schools.

The Heinz Endowments, Grable Foundation, Pittsburgh Foundation, Laurel Foundation, August Wilson Center for African American Culture, Multicultural Arts Initiative and National City Bank are organizations paying for the project.

Kyle Holbrook, executive director of the mural project, said the paintings benefit neighborhoods by decreasing blight and creating a sense of community.

"It really has an impact," said Mr. Holbrook, whose company, KH Design, has painted more than 150 public murals in Allegheny County. "We're into beautifying places, but more important is what we can do socially for these neighborhoods."

Painting the murals has created social opportunities for student artists that otherwise would not have existed, he said. By working together, teens from rival neighborhoods have become friends, he said.

"We've completely erased the boundary lines between neighborhoods."

Just down the busway, Wilkinsburg is also receiving several murals as part of the project.

Wilkinsburg native Chris Savido, who is famous for his painting "Bush Monkeys," is the designer of a mural at Franklin Avenue and Wood Street. "Bush Monkeys"-- a portrait of George Bush comprising tiny monkeys in a marsh -- caused a stir in the art world in 2004 when its inclusion in a show resulted in the closure of the exhibit.

Detroit native George Gist is designer of a work at South Avenue and Hay Street.