Jun. 9—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — By the end of the week, the Washington Street wall of Stone Bridge Brewing Co. in downtown Johnstown will be adorned with the only official Marvel Comics-approved public mural in the world.
The 28-foot-tall and 49-foot-wide work of art will feature popular characters Spider-Man and Doctor Strange, co-created by Johnstown native and longtime comic artist Steve Ditko.
Installation of the mural that depicts the web-head swinging through the city and the sorcerer supreme floating nearby began Wednesday.
"It's still a little bit surreal," Bottle Works creative director Matthew Lamb said. "Dream come true for me."
Lamb, Bottle Works employee and artist Glenn Klimeck and public art consultant Michael Allison carefully misted the painted panels to remove wrinkles, applied an acrylic gel adhesive to the back and lifted the pieces into place.
Allison guided creation of the parachute cloth panels, which he described as "pretty tough."
"Once it's adhered to something, it's close to indestructible," he said.
When it's all up, a protective clear-coat will be applied to protect the art that Lamb designed using three images of Ditko's work.
The group's plan was to install the first two rows of the mural on Wednesday and continue throughout the next few days — weather permitting.
Lamb said Johnstown Construction has agreed to provide a lift to handle the higher pieces of the mural, which will cover the entire wall of the building.
"I think it's a wonderful thing for the city of Johnstown," Klimeck said.
He described it as a long-overdue recognition for Ditko.
Stone Bridge Brewing Co. owner Jeremy Shearer agreed.
"It's a great tribute to a great hometown hero," Shearer said.
He thanked Bottle Works for choosing his building to host the mural and added that he's excited his business is "the palette for Matt's work."
The 50 panels were painted over the course of more than two months utilizing public sessions.
Community members were invited to the Bottle Works facility in the city's Cambria City section to contribute to the five-foot-by-six-foot sections.
Allison said public art gives people a sense of ownership and pride in their area.
"We had 8- to 80-year-olds working on these," he said.
Afterward, he, Lamb and Klimeck touched up the paint and did detail work.
This isn't the only mural based on Ditko's art set to be installed in Johnstown.
Lamb said the second wall painting is close to the final design phase and will be hung on Bottle Works' Tulip Building.