ENRICHING THE COMMUNITY
A drive up and down Broadway yields many views of Pittsburg’s beautiful, historic architecture. The cityscape scenes themselves can feel like works of art.
Closer to ground level, though, genuine works of art have been pleasing the eyes of passersby. Several new murals have been painted on the sides of the city’s historic buildings, giving the downtown district a renewed sense of culture and community pride.
“I feel like this type of interactive art enriches the community by making it readily available,” said Jenna Spencer, the Pittsburg native and artist responsible for these new artistic creations. “When a community member takes a photo with the mural, they are immersing themselves in the art and making themselves a part of it.”
Spencer was approached by the City of Pittsburg in 2016 to create the downtown mural on the northwest corner of 5th and Broadway. That project inspired her to take on a new challenge.
“After some thought I wanted to include some interactive smaller murals to entice walking the downtown shops,” she said. “I tried to find locations that would allow space for people to take photos in front of them.”
A renewed sense of culture and community pride
Recent creations include the dandelion on the side of Audacious Boutique, the tree swings directly to the north, and the “Downtown” sign on the northeast corner of Broadway and Rose. The large Pittsburg mural on the west side of the Chamber of Commerce building is also Spencer’s work.
So how did she convince the business owners to let her paint these murals on their buildings?
“I would just contact the business owners and see if they were interested,” she said.
