Downtown Auburn recently got a new splash of color courtesy of the “Faces of Auburn” mural.

Decorating the windows of the vacant Crites/Huff Building at Division Street and First Street Southwest downtown near the Sound Transit Center Plaza, the mural features 23 5-foot-by-3-foot plywood panels all adorned with a painted portrait of an Auburn resident.

“The City called and they were looking for a quick and resourceful way to beautify this building while they were in-between construction projects,” artist Rachael Dotson said. “Also, they really wanted to find a way to recognize the citizens of Auburn, so that’s how I came up with the idea, ‘Faces of Auburn.’ So every portrait that’s here in the mural is a person who lives here.”

According to the Auburn Arts Commission, the idea for the project came from Mayor Pete Lewis who was looking for a way to beautify the building until future development of the city-owned site could begin.

Dotson, a graphic artist and mural painter, began work with volunteers on Aug. 17, prepping the panels for paint.

“So Monday and Tuesday we were here at midnight, in the dark, transferring with the projector the lines, so people who came on volunteer day could see what was happening,” she said. “And it makes it easier to translate the whole project, because it’s a little abstract.”

By Thursday, the portraits were ready for their coat of paint.

“It was great to see volunteers with no painting experience complete a whole panel, all on their own,” Dotson said. “I’m trying to give them as much free reign as I can because it’s a good experience. Everybody was really thrilled, so that’s a rewarding experience for me.”

She added that many of the portraits came via the city’s photo archive, from sponsored events during the past year. Dotson also said she went to the Auburn International Farmers Market and took several pictures for the display.

With the project near completion last Friday, Dotson took a second to reflect on the significance of the project to the machinery.

“I just think it makes people stop and think,” Dotson said. “I think on a simple level, somebody on a bus on their way to their job gets a smile and thinks, ‘Someone took the time to make this beautiful for me.’ That is it at the core level. But it’s also important to give people a sense of ownership in public art. That’s why volunteer day is always a part of my mural work. It gives people a chance to meet other community members they might not have met. It can be a very healing and bonding moment.”

Auburn resident Jerry Ruston, who brought his children, Caroline and Samuel, to lend a hand painting on Friday, agreed.

“We heard about it and wanted to come down and support the artist and the project,” he said.

Dotson added that the project, and all public art, are especially important in troubled times.

“It also shows people that even in tough economic times, the City of Auburn still cares, and they’re going to do what they can,” she said. “And this is kind of a scrappy way to keep improving the city and the aesthetic as much as they can.”