Mar 7, 2016 2 min read

CHARLEROI – An art project at Charleroi Area Middle School involves paint and glue, but it also incorporates the borough’s rich history and economics in the course of instruction.

“It started off as a history lesson, and the students responded,” said high school art teacher Patrick Camut.

The idea to create an exhibit of cardboard replicas of new uses for some of Charleroi’s 50 empty storefronts began with a lecture at the school last summer by Monongahela architect Terry Necciai, who has been resurveying Charleroi’s historic district for a preservation plan. Necciai said he wanted to get local students involved in recognizing the need for saving the buildings, some of which date to the late 1800s.

“He gave a presentation on the historic properties and how Charleroi is known for its shopping district,” Camut said.

Charleroi once had some of the highest retail sales per capita in Pennsylvania until malls redefined shopping in the 1970s and the steel industry collapsed.

The storefronts there are narrow and long and were initially designed with large windows to advertise the plate glass that was produced in the town, Camut said.

The students were required to use their imaginations to “revamp” the downtown storefronts to create an art exhibit of miniature businesses that could be displayed in one of the town’s empty stores, he said.

“Every student created a small business,” he said.

While some of the finished products are of such stores as a flower shop, another is called the Road to Redemption.

“Some of them are off the wall,” Camut said. “In art there are no mistakes. We want them to think outside of the box.”

Camut said the students can become future entrepreneurs who might one day occupy a storefront in Charleroi.

“They really grasped that concept,” he said.

The school has yet to find a building whose owner will welcome the exhibit.