Painting the town

Street painting project part of efforts to spruce up Quincy downtown street

QUINCY — The downtown project designed to spruce up Quincy’s Central Avenue South started at street level. Artwork, literally at the street level, was painted on Central Avenue in Quincy based on plans to spruce up downtown. “What really inspired it was the revitalization plan that the city of Quincy has, which mentioned adding a mural to these intersections, as well as some gateway features,” Marissa Lopez of the Better Block Foundation said. Volunteers and employees of a Dallas-based organization were out in the middle of Central Avenue Thursday morning, carefully taping off squares and triangles in the intersection at C Street SE and Central. Paint rollers in hand, volunteers and Better Block employees were filling in the design with bright orange and blue, yellow and green paint. The crews spent part of Wednesday afternoon installing signs and sculptures at three downtown intersections. Lopez said the company was in Quincy a couple of years ago, painting the street along B Street SE and sponsoring the first B Street block party. The company was hired for the return project.