Wallflowers in West Philadelphia

The intersection at 39th Street and Lancaster Avenue once appeared rough around the edges, drab with worn buildings itching for a helping hand - and preferably one holding a paintbrush.

Beautification efforts eventually took root, and a ceremony Monday morning honored the completion of five autumn-themed murals in the area. The largest, entitled "Just Before Fall," is the product of a Penn class.

Jane Golden, director of Philadelphia's Mural Arts Program, has taught an academically based community-service course at Penn for several years that allows students to work with the community to produce one mural each semester.

"Just Before Fall" was completed in December, as part of larger efforts - which include new landscaping - to revive the area around the intersection. It depicts a hand-like tree reaching beyond the roof of the building and into the sky.

Passers-by "seem to be transported from Lancaster Avenue to wherever their space of pleasure is for a moment," said Madeline Medley, owner of a spa that is housed in the mural's building. "It almost screams tranquility."

Smaller murals depict longtime community leaders Ona Collins and Arthur Council, a floral theme and a young boy, symbolic of the future.

College junior Ben Schneider, a student in the class, said planning the mural's concept became difficult when community members did not easily reach a consensus at meetings.

Nevertheless, he said he relished informal interactions with the neighborhood, which included participating in a community painting and playing basketball at a community center.

"I didn't really think of it as community service or anything. We were just working together for a common goal," Schneider said.

Golden said that, in her work with the project, she has witnessed the murals' power to improve the safety, civility and aesthetics of neighborhoods. Out of more than 2,600 murals, only about 1 percent have been defaced, Golden's assistant Amy Johnston said.

Already, Golden has seen trash, graffiti and old cars disappear from the intersection and has heard overwhelmingly positive responses from residents.

Medley said "Just Before Fall" has turned heads, attracted families with cameras and brought even more customers to her business.

She described the transformation as the opposite of the "broken windows" theory of urban decay - here, beautification begets more positive change. Golden cited increases in affordable housing and planned recreation and senior centers as further evidence of the neighborhood's ongoing development.

The new trees and murals are "just one sign of [the neighborhood] waking up," said Laura Beitman, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, which provided the new landscaping. "There are a lot of dedicated community people who are working and who have worked for many years."

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