Mystery of Dwight St. mosaics solved

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - Several dancing ladies made of glass decorate the walls under the railroad trestle on Dwight Street in Springfield.

For those who walk by them everyday, they were a welcome surprise when they suddenly appeared last year.

“It's a positive thing for someone who walks through the tunnel every day and has to look at all the mess that's in the tunnel, I think the mosaics are a very positive addition to it," said Melvin Arocho.

However, no one seemed to know where they came from. They weren't commissioned by the city or any of the major arts groups in Springfield.

For months, it was somewhat of a mystery.

22News did some digging and found out that the person behind these mosaics is an artist out of Ashfield named Robert Markey.

He said originally he tried to keep the project quiet because he didn't have permission to put it up.

The Director of the Springfield Arts Initiative told 22News Markey's public art pieces are exactly what the city needs.

"We have an economy right now that's a little slow and one way to bring that up is to bring people downtown and to have them feel as though they have something to come for and I think arts and culture is one of the steps for that," said Gina Beavers.