Nov. 6—NIAGARA FALLS — Samuel Musolino always wanted to paint a big picture of Niagara Falls on the side of his building.

Now, thanks to the help of a local artist, the owner of Sammy's Pizzeria on Hyde Park Boulevard can stand back and look at his dream come true.

As the family owned Niagara Falls pizza shop celebrates its 60th year in business, it is also honoring the Falls and three generations of owners with murals on the front and side of its building at the corner of Hyde Park Boulevard and Pierce Avenue.

While the image of the Falls was Samuel's idea, his son Sammy Musolino Jr. came up with the design for the front of the building. It features portraits of himself, his dad and his grandfather, Salvatore, the original "Sammy" who started making and selling pizzas out of a small shop named after his nickname back in 1962.

"He worked at pizzerias and enjoyed it and wanted to put together how he felt his own recipe should be and it just blossomed," Musolino Jr. said, referring to his "papa" Sammy's early days as a pizza maker. "He made the pizzas himself and he delivered them himself. He was a pioneer in the pizza business."

The mural project came together with financial support from the Niagara County Facade Improvement Program, which provides matching grants for exterior building upgrades along main streets and commercial corridors across the county.

The project also got a boost from the Niagara Falls National Heritage Area, a federally designated non-profit organization that sponsors community enhancement efforts, including public arts projects, in the Falls.

The murals were painted by local artist Ali Price, a Grand Island native who was selected by the family from a group of artists that applied for the job.

The 26-year-old Price has completed nine murals in public spaces during her career, including two in Youngstown and one in Williamsville.

Unlike the others, Price said the Sammy's Pizzeria project involved direct design input from the building's owners.

Price said she wanted to bring a "realistic" looking Niagara Falls to the side of the building. To do so, she painted it so a person looking up from the street would have a perspective similar to what they would see if they were riding on the Maid of the Mist and looking up at the Falls from a boat. To capture the image, she used photos of the Falls that she took while riding on a Maid of the Mist boat herself.

"The design was a challenge and I was really looking forward to that," she said. "I wanted the Falls to look realistic. It was a challenge and new for me."

"It really does the Falls justice, I think, to have it on that giant wall," she added.

Another challenge involved painting the portraits of the Musolino family members. While she said she has painted portraits before, this was the first time she did so on such a large scale.

Price, who started the project in late September, said she found herself pausing at times to step back and look at the building from across Hyde Park Boulevard to make sure the faces had the proper proportion and look.

"I think the hardest part was that you are just so close to it everyday," she said. "I just had to step back and look at it from across the street."

When others see the murals, Price said she hopes they get a real sense of the beauty of the Falls and the family tradition that has been part of Sammy's Pizzeria for six decades now.

"I think the family was really going for something that was celebrating their three generations, their history and their tradition. I think that the mural is timeless. This business has been around for 60 years. I hope that it will age with them."

Salvatore "Sammy" Musolino started the family business in 1962 when he began making his own brand of pizza out of a small shop on Royal Avenue. After a few years, he moved the shop to another location near the Stadium Grill in the 1200 block of Hyde Park Boulevard. The pizzeria later moved to its current location 1400 Hyde Park Blvd. Originally just a small space featuring pizza ovens behind the bar and a few tables, Sammy's expanded in the 1970s to include a larger kitchen and dining and banquet space.

Musolino Jr. said his "Papa" Sammy was an innovator who used to make all of the pizzas himself and who would put a sign on the door that read "back in 5 minutes" when he went out to deliver them himself, too.

He also pioneered the use of half trays to cook pizza, according to Musolino Jr. who said his grandfather preferred half trays to full trays because they cooked the pizzas more evenly, not just along the sides but in the middle, too.

Sammy's menu has expanded quite a bit since its earliest days when the original Sammy served only pizza and cold subs.

Musolino Jr. said one thing has not changed: The family pizza recipe. He said he and his father are the only two people who still make the sauce and the dough, just the same way Papa Sammy did until his passing in 1993.

"It's all still the same style, but we put a few twists on some things over the years," Musolino Jr. said.

Musolino Jr. hopes the new exterior look at Sammy's highlight two things: His family's love of the Falls and its commitment to providing residents and tourists with quality food and friendly service.

Above the portraits on the front of the building is a saying that Musolino Jr.'s Nani, his grandfather's wife, Loretta, said following her husband's death. It speaks to how much the founder of Sammy's treasured family and friends and to the pleasure he took in showing generosity and kindness. The saying notes that the original Sammy offered memories for those he left behind and that he was "a legend and one of a kind."

"I wanted to make sure that my grandfather and my dad, especially my dad, got the credit they deserved," Musolino Jr. said. "I wanted to people to realize how much hard work they have done."

"We put our heart and soul into this area," he added.

So what does his dad, Samuel, say about the near-finished product, which Price expects to finish up later this week?

"I love it," he said. "The artist did a great job."

Samuel said the restaurant's owners and workers have already received a lot of compliments from neighbors, passers-by and even a few tourists.

In the end, Samuel Musolino said he hopes the paintings will instill a little extra pride in the Hyde Park neighborhood and in the City of Niagara Falls itself.

"We've got to take pride in our city and make sure it looks nice," he said.