South Portland Paints Crosswalk for DiPietro’s Market 50th Year

DiPietro's Market on Cottage Road in South Portland has been a landmark for the city for the past 50 years. To celebrate DiPietro's 50th anniversary, South Portland did something special for them.

According to the website of DiPietro's Market, DiPietro's was opened in 1972 at the very same location it stands at 50 years later, by Sam and Helen DiPietro. Sam passed away in 2016 at the age of 81 but today it still remains in the family and is still the landmark it has always been.

The City of South Portland, in gratitude and celebration of DiPietro's Market, decided to do something special for them. The Public Works Department changed the color of the crosswalk at the intersection of Pillsbury Street and Cottage Road right across from DiPietro's.

The standard white crosswalk was converted into a green, white and red crosswalk, the colors of the Flag of Italy. It also matches perfectly with the awning of DiPietro's which are in the same colors.

DiPietro's posted some photos on Facebook of the work and gave a thank you to the city for the recognition saying that Sam and Hellen would have been happy and proud to see this. They even took time to name the guys from South Portland Public Works who painted the crosswalk: Chris Savage, Eli Madsen and Jake Leeman.

Next time you drive down Cottage Road in South Portland, keep an eye out for the Italian crosswalk. Trust me when I say it will be very hard to miss.