Mural at 2767 Liberty Avenue

Panel 1 (1870-1900)

The first panel marks the birth of electricity, during which electrification was beginning to make an impact on everyday life. Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse were prominent inventors during this time and contributed their versions of the light bulb to the world. The panel also depicts the Pearl Street Station in lower Manhattan, the first central power plant built by the Edison Electric Illuminating Company in 1882. The light bulb itself left its mark on the World's Fair, used to light the fair exhibits and bring power to businesses, factories and homes for many years to come.

Design Team: Megan Hawk, Michael Hughes, Stefan Brandow, Dave Scheponik

Panel 2 (1901-1931)

The second panel demonstrates the grueling work required to unearth sources of fuel that were converted into energy. During this time period, coal was the main fuel source used in generating electricity. This panel depicts some aspects of the industry, such as a miner, smoke stacks, a steam shovel and coal itself. Prominent figures in this era were Nikola Tesla who invented AC power, represented through his Tesla coils, and Thomas Edison who argued for DC power, represented by his incandescent light bulb (AC won out). These three basic elements are unified through the light from the coal miner's helmet.

Design Team: Zac Emma, Steve Hahn, Austin McFall, Dan West

Panel 3 (1932-1962)

The third panel suggests the relationship between farmers and coal miners, with a central focus on rural electrification, coal power, and the emergence of hydropower. In 1935, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt established the Rural Electrification Administration as one of his many New Deal programs to combat the Great Depression. Within two years, the REA helped bring electricity to some 1.5 million farms. Another of FDR's New Deal projects was building dams for irrigation, flood control, and power. The farmer tending his crops and the coal miner with his pick are reminders of how rapidly technology advanced during this era, and its impact on the nation.

Design Team: Michael Armstrong, Brooklyn Carpenter, Dan Lee, Gina McGaha, Chris Stubbs

Panel 4 (1963-1992)

The fourth panel illustrates the progression of electrification from the previous three panels, emphasizing nuclear power and the dawn of renewable sources of energy. The first commercial nuclear power plant in the U.S. was erected 25 miles from Pittsburgh in Shippingport. The Westinghouse Tower in downtown Pittsburgh is featured in this panel as a reminder that the technology of Westinghouse is the basis for nearly 50 percent of the world's operating commercial nuclear power plants. In the mid-1970s, the U.S. government began working with industry to advance the technology of commercial wind turbines. With the cityscape of Pittsburgh as the backdrop, the industries of coal and steel pave the road to a new era of cleaner technologies and renewable resources, with scientists and engineers taking the lead (suggested by the two figures).

Design Team: Trena Coleman, Patrick Everett, Leah Hawkins, Nicholas Miller, Mike Pison

Panel 5 (1993-2023)

The fifth panel depicts the future of electricity, advancing toward more sustainable resources. Igniting our passions to make the world a better place, this panel suggests how our innovations have progressed and will continue to exceed our expectations. The composition consists of technological advances that make electricity more environmentally friendly, including increased use of wind, solar, and hydropower, as well as energy from plants and waste products, known as biomass. We sculpt the future and share destiny with this world. Hope will always advance us forward through human creativity and imagination.

Design Team: Mike Dengler, Caitlin Ewing, Jeremy Kelly, Danielle Mitchell, Samuel Stoner