Most public art along the Route 1 corridor can be spotted while you’re driving, but one striking piece in Mount Rainier can only be seen on foot.

Installed in the planters along the walkways around the Mount Rainier circle are a series of bas relief panels made from cast cement showing a series of a diverse group of people’s faces.

The panels were installed in 1999 as part of a project by the Maryland State Highway Administration and the Maryland Mass Transit Administration.

They were designed by Y. David Chung, a prolific multimedia artist who is now director of an MFA program at the University of Michigan, and Tom Ashcraft, an art professor at George Mason University.

The two collaborated on a number of other projects around the D.C. area, including streetscapes in Silver Spring, Bethesda and the Virginia Square Metro station.

It’s fitting that the panels in Mount Rainier, which show a diverse range of faces, can only be seen from the sidewalk, as they were part of a broader project to improve the nearby bus station, including bus shelters, benches and brick pavers.

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