Penn Avenue veil of mystery to regain vibrancy

No one knows her story.

Was she jilted at the altar, or has she simply forgotten something• Is she visiting someone before the ceremony, or has she fled it already?

"The Bride of Penn Avenue," a 30- by 20-foot mural on a brick building at the corner of Penn Avenue and North Graham Street in Garfield, has intrigued passers-by for 16 years. The Bloomfield-Garfield Corp. wants to make sure her mystery lives on with a $35,000 project to restore the iconic mural.

"We've had a lot of comments over the years from people about the mural and what its significance is to them," said Rick Swartz, BGC executive director. "It made artwork very accessible to a public that doesn't make it to museums to see art in its preserved form."

The mural was designed by Pittsburgh architect Jill Watson and painted by artist Judy Penzer in 1995. Both women died a year later aboard TWA Flight 800 when it burst into flames on the way to Paris and crashed in the Atlantic Ocean.

Penzer painted three other large murals around Pittsburgh, the most prominent of which was the sports mural featuring the likenesses of Mario Lemieux, Bill Mazeroski and other athletes on the side of 500 Wood St., Downtown. Crews tore down the building to make way for a Lazarus department store in 1997.

Watson was a partner in the architectural firm Arthur Lubetz Associates in Oakland who worked to restore the four-story building on which "Bride" is painted.

The mural depicts a woman in a flowing wedding gown and veil ascending the stairs in front of a row house that matches neighboring homes.

"The question is, if she's coming back from the church, why does she still have her veil on?" Swartz said. "Was she left at the altar• Is she going to see somebody she wants to have at the wedding• Is she entering the house for the wedding itself?"

Watson would never disclose the bride's story, instead leaving it up the viewer's imagination.

The mural also creates the illusion that the row of houses continues on infinitely. Viewers can stand at the new Target on Penn Avenue in East Liberty -- about a mile away -- and see the painted houses extending into the distance.

The mural was first restored in 1998, then began deteriorating in recent years. Last spring, Swartz approached Pittsburgh artists Ashley Hodder, 35, and Zandra Specter, 68, for a cost estimate. The figure was "a bit overwhelming at first," said Swartz, and the project was shelved.

A few months ago, during a visit to Pittsburgh, Watson's mother, Janice, and Art Lubetz, Watson's business partner, were driving together through town when Janice caught sight of the mural. Its shabby state upset her, leading Lubetz to contact the BGC. Once they learned of the abandoned plan to restore it, Janice and husband James donated $15,000 to the cause.

A Pittsburgh foundation that donated on the condition of anonymity gave $10,000. Hodder and Specter started work in June.

The corporation still needs roughly $10,000 complete the project. It collected about $300 in individual donations so far, and is reaching out to the community to help come up with the rest. The artists are on track to be done by late August, and Swartz hopes to hold a dedication ceremony in September.

Swartz's group sent a letter to Richard Penzer of Long Island, N.Y. -- Judy's brother -- asking if he'd like to be involved in the project. Swartz said Penzer did not respond. Penzer could not be reached for this story.

The restoration will give the mural another 15 years at least, Specter said.

The artists sprayed it with a chemical that helps the paint molecules rebond, and making the pigment more visible. They glued down chipped areas where they can, and will paint portions that are too damaged to salvage.

"Nobody wanted to do a rushed repair," Swartz said.

Hodder, who has done about 20 original murals throughout Pittsburgh and its suburbs, said restoring someone else's work offers a new perspective.

"When you're so close up, you can see their sketches and notes they wrote to themselves," she said. "I don't want to put any of my influence at all."

The pair has been working on a rented boom lift that dominates the sidewalk. As people pass, many express concern their beloved bride is changing.

"Every day, people say, 'I love that mural. Are you changing it• Are you taking it down?'" Specter said. "They feel so connected to it."