For one resident, the neighborhood needs more than paintings to restore properties in the community.

"The murals are better than the ugly boarded up houses, but to be honest, I would much prefer the city to tear them all down and build better housing or rehab them and sell them to members of the same community," Kim Boyd said.

But she said the paintings have sparked conversation with her teenage daughter who asked her about Larry Hughes, a subject of one of the artworks.

"That part is good because it helps to bring awareness to those people, which in turn can help to inspire the next generation," Boyd told the Post-Dispatch.

Clark, of Better Family Life, said the project is "lighting a spark" that could eventually create more development and attract potential investors to the community that could "increase property value, lower insurance rates and start a renaissance."

It has caught the attention of some on social media: