‘Snapshot’ of Diamond City, 1940s style, adorns a downtown wall

WILKES-BARRE — It’s a vibrant spring day on Public Square.

A blonde woman in a blue dress steps off a bright red trolley car, her black stilletos clicking smartly on the pavement as she walks toward a dark-haired man in a dark suit.

His tie and tightly rolled umbrella appear to match her dress. Maybe they know each other. Maybe he expects rain, despite the azure sky and bright sun beaming down on the pink cherry blossoms and lush greenenery of the square.

A bright yellow taxicab passes the trolley as a man in a broad-brimmed hat walks into Percy Brown’s cafeteria and food market alone, perhaps on his lunch break.

Off to the right, meanwhile, a Planters Peanuts delivery truck goes about its rounds under the watchful eye of the Stegmaier chipmunks, gleefully promoting the hometown brew from a billboard overlooking the square.

This picturesque snapshot of 1940s life in the Diamond City could be the setting of a mystery novel, or maybe the opening montage of some anthracite region film noir.

In fact, however, it’s a recently completed mural in downtown Wilkes-Barre, adorning the Northampton Street garage entrance to the Lofts on South Main with numerous nods to the neighborhood’s heritage.

Painted by Susquehanna County-based mural artist Eric Bussart, the mural was commissioned for the site by Joe Amato Properties and finished a little over a week ago.

Turning heads with history

Even before it was completed, Bussart said he was receiving many compliments and questions.

“I noticed that when people from the area came up to me they were connecting with those things,” said Bussart, 27, a Marywood University graduate who trained as an artist and illustrator.

That reaction was exactly what the property’s owners had in mind.

“Joe Amato Properties has an appreciation for the City of Wilkes Barre and its rich cultural history. The mural subject matter was chosen to pay respect to one of the most recognizable landmarks in the city as well as some of the businesses who have called the city home,” said Liana M. Kissinger Chief Operating Officer and Director of Leasing at Joe Amato Properties.

Planters Peanuts and Stegmaier Beer are, of course, brands with deep local roots that are still Wilkes-Barre icons.

Percy Brown’s may not resonate with younger readers, but for generations it was a popular gathering spot in downtown Wilkes-Barre until the business closed in 1981. While depicted on the square for artistic purposes, Percy Brown’s was actually on East Northampton Street, occupying the site where Movies 14 now stands, steps from the garage entrance and mural.

Trolley cars like the one seen in the mural bade farewell to the city in 1950, but the painting also features a Martz Lines bus passing what is now the Luzerne Bank building, two elements of the local scene that remain with us today.

A prolific artist

Bussart is a native of Ambler, a small Montgomery County community near Philadelphia. He came to Northeastern Pennsylvania as a student and set up shop here after graduation.

So far, Bussart has 48 murals to his credit, stretching from Brooklyn, N.Y. back to Ambler. Many are in the greater Scranton area, though he now has completed several in Luzerne County as well, including at the Gateway Shopping Center in Edwardsville. Many are visible to the public, though some are private indoor commissions. They can be seen at ericbussart.com.

“It’s been the bulk of my income for the last, like three or four years, the murals,” Bussart said.

He also has worked with Joe Amato Properties before, so the partnership was a familiar one. The group was pleased with how Bussart translated their Public Square mural concept into reality.

“We wanted to complete the mural as soon as the weather permitted and Eric was able to accommodate that request,” Kissinger said.

Tasked with the commission, Bussart turned to a black-and-white 1940s photo of a trolley waiting for passengers on the square as his starting point. It was a winter scene, which he changed into a rich polychromatic spring, developing the landscape from there,

“I started doing research on what was on either side of the photo, and added some things in — people, vehicles,” he said, as well as the historic local businesses mentioned.

It took Bussart about eight days to finish the downtown mural, working 11-hour days and using a folding ladder.

What might surprise those who view the richly detailed work is that much of it spray-painted.

“Everything I can do with spray paint, I do with spray paint,” he said, explaining that the medium bonds better on concrete block.

“There are pores, little holes, and if you drag a brush over it, there’s gonna be all these like white speckles,” he said. “And it’s just faster.”

The eye-catching final result of Bussart’s efforts won’t be the final mural for Joe Amato Properties, however, as the Wilkes-Barre Township company has its eye on using them to enhance other sites.

“All of the feedback we’ve received so far has been positive and we’re happy to know that others in Wilkes-Barre enjoy the art,” Kissinger said.