Using art to help revive business districts in Pittsburgh neighborhoods | KD Sunday Spotlight

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A local artist is splashing some color onto empty storefronts and inviting those who walk or drive by them to imagine...what if?

When you walk along Brownsville Road in Mount Oliver Borough, you'll see bright art murals in empty shop windows and the pop is certain to catch your eye.

"Even just to get the windows looking better, it makes a big difference," said artist Maria DeSimone Prascak. "We definitely needed some more things happening here."

DeSimone Prascak said she hopes that the art doesn't just catch the eyes of passerby, but someone who may want to start a business.

"I mean, we're staging the business district, right? If you buy a home, you go in and it's all staged. We're staging, basically, this community," she said. "It gets people looking."

The nonprofit Hilltop Alliance works with 11 neighborhoods in Pittsburgh's South Hilltop area and they are partnered with DeSimone Prascak in Mount Oliver Borough to inspire potential small businesses through art.

"We started this series just last month and we are activating vacant storefronts with art in order to attract new businesses and make the business district a little brighter," said Meg O'Brien, the economic development director of the Hilltop Alliance.

DeSimone Prascak also has a close connection to the area.

"I grew up here and I remember when every business here had something in it," she said. "Doing this is very close to my heart because I've been here for so long, I've been here for 42 years. I love that there are different generations and younger people coming from all over the country."

She wanted to use her talents and skills to help move the downtown area forward, one mural and one empty storefront at a time.

Now, DeSimone Prascak is preparing to begin her next mural of a deli.

Multiple people have already reached out with interest in opening up shop in other empty storefronts.

Also, with Becks Run Road being closed for construction, Mount Oliver is seeing a lot more traffic than usual.