‘This neighborhood deserves color.’ A massive mural is taking shape in Cleveland.

CLEVELAND — On Cleveland’s East Side, a forbidding brick wall has become a canvas.

Using spray guns and aerosol cans, the artists are creating one of the largest murals in the state. Their work surfaces stretch 728 feet along Woodhill Road, where the mural conceals the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority bus maintenance garage.

For years, the wall was a barrier at the bottom of a hill in the Buckeye-Woodhill neighborhood. Now it is a brightly colored billboard showcasing the history and culture of a community undergoing major changes.

“This is an opportunity to commemorate some of the spaces that we may not see again — or at least see them again in a different way,” said Ahlon Gonzalez, who grew up nearby and still lives a few minutes away. “So I think there’s a sense of urgency there.”

Gonzalez is overseeing the mural project for LAND Studio, a nonprofit organization focused on public art and public spaces. The work, funded by federal grants, is a partnership with Burten, Bell, Carr Development Inc. and a group of local stakeholders.

And it’s heavily influenced by the people who live nearby, from retirees who have lived in the neighborhood for decades to children with little drawings hidden like Easter eggs in some of the pictures.

“Kids can see themselves in the work and point to something that will last 20, 30 years,” said Derek Brennan, one of the lead artists.

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The mural is part of a much larger vision and Raise the Eastto spread art to various neighborhoods in the city. The target area stretches from East 72nd Street to East 140th Street between Woodland and Kinsman avenues.

Woodhill Road runs through the middle of this footprint. The brick wall sits just west of a large public housing complex that the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority and Community Builders, a nonprofit real estate developer, are replacing.

The major redevelopment One of the nation’s oldest public housing projects, the 487-unit Woodhill Homes, is planned to be demolished and mixed-income rental housing built on the site and nearby land.

The first new apartment building of the project, construction of which began in 2022, was opened this year.

More than 20 organizations are part of an effort to revitalize the area, supported by a $45 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The project will also include a health clinic and early childhood education center, as well as renovations to existing homes and programs to help residents find jobs and education.

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All this development and demolition has added momentum to the mural project, but Gonzalez said something had to be done to the blank wall no matter what.

“I think this is overdue,” he said. “It’s so brown here. People seem to think that housing developments don’t need public art.”

On Monday, ignoring the drizzle, he walked the length of the mural, which is a series of images divided by strips of red brick.

There’s a carousel, a nod to an old amusement park that once stood nearby. A picture of that public housing complex. Depictions of skating and relaxing at nearby recreational facilities. Picnics, haircuts, and an RTA train passing by.

“It doesn’t have to be anything fancy,” he said. “It’s just people playing basketball. People riding bikes. Black people from this neighborhood.”

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Drivers passing by slow down and stop to take photos.

“People are honking. They’re stopping their cars. They’re just so happy to see color,” Gonzalez said. “This neighborhood deserves color.”

The artists said they probably had 10 to 12 days to complete the mural. They painted from 8:30 a.m. to sunset, occasionally holding night sessions to map out more intricate paintings.

“The more we work on it, the better it gets,” said Chad Fedorovich, the project’s other lead artist. “We’re chipping away at some of the details and colors.”

Fedorovich and Brennan, who live in Cleveland, work with four other local artists: Dayz Whun, Christa Freehands, Alicia Vasquez and Isaiah Williams.

They are leaving only a section of the wall intact. In 2022, a 50-foot-tall mural was installed in the middle, across Mt. Carmel Road. This artwork by Stina Aleah and Bob Peck will remain and will eventually be touched up.

Brennan hopes the large mural will inspire children in the neighborhood to consider a career in the arts. He realized early on, at age 10, that he wanted to be an artist.

He started drawing cartoons at Cedar Point. Then came his first mural opportunity.

“That led to another one and another one,” he said. “All of a sudden it started snowballing. I started falling in love with public art. … It’s open to people. It’s not showy. It becomes part of a community.”

In Buckeye-Woodhill, that brick wall now becomes a mirror, illuminating a long, boring stretch of street and reflecting the life and hopes of the surrounding neighborhood.

“I think sometimes it takes one of these projects and the impact it creates to really see why public art is important,” Gonzalez said.

“We want to have community events around this wall,” he added. “We want to celebrate this wall. We’re planning a grand opening of some sort.”