A group of Elizabeth Public School students spent part of Monday painting murals on the city’s traffic utility boxes.

More than 14 designs were chosen for the seven utility boxes on Elizabeth Avenue. Each box featured a mural depicting the culture, history and beauty of the city of Elizabeth.

The event kicked off at Union Square Plaza, which is also the site of a key battle in the Revolutionary War.

Elizabeth Avenue Partnership officials say this effort is a way to brighten up the community.

“I was driving around in other towns, and I noticed these signal boxes that were all pretty and stuff and kept referring to our signal boxes that were all covered in graffiti and looking horrible," says Elizabeth Avenue Partnership vice chairman Emerson Amador. “And I said ‘You know what, I think we really need to set some type of plan in motion to make them prettier and make them nice.’”

The event was a collaborative effort between Elizabeth Avenue Partnership, the city of Elizabeth and Elizabeth Public School.