GROVE CITY — With landmarks like Cooper Bessemer, the Rainbow Bridge and the Penn Grove Hotel at its center, a mural designed for the borough of Grove City will launch the town's past and present into the future.

The mural, to be affixed to a Broad Street building in August, is being made possible by the state's Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful and Pennsylvania Downtown Center programs.

In the spring and summer of 2006, the programs partnered with the Pennsylvania Horticulture Center on an internship program aimed at beautifying Pennsylvania neighborhoods.

Grove City is one of 12 communities where interns were placed this year to work on an art or greening project. More than 30 interns were hired.

"It really livens things up and it's a great way to draw attention to the town in a different way,"said Lisa Pritchard, Olde Town manager in Grove City. "It helps with our mission to physically improve our downtown. Plus, it's just a really cool thing to do."

Designated the town's Main Street manager as a part of the Pennsylvania Downtown Center program, Pritchard receives notices when state funding and programs are available. She jumped at the opportunity to add a mural to the borough's streetscape.

"We thought it would give us a unique opportunity to add artwork to the town," she said.

Carina Earl, a student at George Mason University in Virginia; Kara Snitger from Pittsburgh University; and Erica Hess of Shippensburg University were the three students chosen work in Grove City. They have been working diligently on the project since they arrived in June.

Sitting 25 by 20 feet high, the mural has been painted by various community members since last month. Made of a parachute cloth canvas, it is broken into 5-foot squares and has been transported to various locations around the community so that residents might pitch in on the effort.

Residing at a Barkeyville farm for the summer, interns spent a majority of their first month in GroveCity researching the town, constantly developing new ideas for the mural.

"We met with different people, older residents, the historical society and visited different places in Grove City," Snitger said. "Then we developed our design from everything we saw."

After weeks of research, the interns began to map out their design. They penciled in the images and colors of the mural on the thin, paper-like canvas.

Snitger said all of the mural design was derived mainly from interviews with older residents and tours of local buildings.

"It really just built upon itself from the start," said Snitger. "We had an idea and we would just add to it based on things that needed cut and pasted in. It's really been a process building up to this final design."

The vacant Aquascapes building onBroad Street has been open to the public since painting began at the end of June. Volunteers have visited the interns and pitched in by painting the designated colors onto the canvas.

"We've really had such a great response from the community," said Snitger. "They've been great and when it's done they'll have a sense of ownership, which is good because they are what this is all really about."

"This is a great opportunity for us and for the community," said Hess. "We get to paint for a summer and the community gets to help and create something that gives them a sense of ownership. You will have parents and children looking up at the mural and saying, 'We did that part.' That's what this is really all about."

Kathy Hurd of Liberty Township said she has never before been involved with any sort of volunteering in the community. But, when she heard about the mural program, she knew it was something she had to have her hand in.

"I thought it would be a lot of fun to be a part of," she said. "I have always liked art, and this is something really awesome and different for the town."

Hurd proudly stands by painting a portion of mountains that appear on the canvas.

"I'm glad to say I had a part in it," she said.

When all of the paint has been applied to the canvas, the three students, who all have a background in college art, will put on the finishing shadows and blends.

"So really, it's not us that's doing everything, it's the community,"said Hess.

Although based on historical landmarks and people, the mural promises to be more than the typical black and white interpretation.

"It's really psychedelic," said Hess. "It's 'Groove' City."

The featured people and places are set atop a background of purples, blues and greens. Hues on the Rainbow Bridge and prominent buildings envelope a contemporary feel into the historical story the artwork tells.

"I think the bridge is really neat because it almost seems like it signifies our journey from the past to the future,"said Pritchard.

Also featured on the painting are Guthrie Theater, the Cunningham Mill and Cunningham Hall at Grove City College.

"This town is really about the school and the industry and how they blend together and we tried to reflect that," Snitger said.

The mural has traveled to places like Trinity Living Center and George Junior Republic, where residents have also helped make the interns' vision of Grove City into reality.

When all of the painting is complete, the interns will affix the mural to its Broad Street building using heavy duty adhesive. A weatherproof paint will keep the project looking new for years to come, Snitger said.

"It's really all about what we have in common," Pritchard said of the mural. "It's a celebration of who we are and what Grove City means.

"A connection to the past can ground you and this is a historical theme with a more modern style. This project is where the past and future come together and I'm really excited about it."