Strangers come together to paint a piano crosswalk in their neighborhood

In just three hours, 75 strangers transformed an average crosswalk into a thing of beauty.

It all started when Richard Glaser of Rochester, New York, saw a Facebook post about a town in California that had a crosswalk painted to look like a piano keyboard. He got in touch with a local artist, Shawn Dunwoody, who told him they could definitely do something similar in Rochester. They got permission from the city, secured donated paint, and then started spreading the word about their project, making it clear that everyone was welcome to pick up a paintbrush.

On June 23, volunteers of all ages gathered in the perfect spot for what is now known as Composers Crossing: right in front of the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music. Dunwoody put out cardboard templates he made of piano keys and gave the artists quick instructions, and soon the volunteers got to work painting. "It was beyond amazing," Barbara Hoffman told The Washington Post. "It was very unique. It was very, very much about the people and the participation." Dunwoody could tell how proud the volunteers were of their crosswalk, and told them, "When you come back here with your children or grandchildren, you can say, 'I painted that.'" Catherine Garcia

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