A panorama of Greenwich made from cut photographs, historic images and glue now stretches across seven framed panels near the first-floor entrance of Greenwich Library at 101 West Putnam Ave. The work is part of the town's observance of the United States' 250th anniversary.

The piece, titled "Greenwich Townscape: Celebrating America 250," debuted July 9 after more than five months of community workshops. Residents of all ages supplied photos, cut images and arranged fragments across 29 hands-on sessions held at 10 locations, including the Bruce Museum, the YMCA, the Boys & Girls Club, Hill House, the Wallace Center, the Cohen and Bendheim civic centers, Perrot Memorial Library and Greenwich Library's main, Cos Cob and Byram Shubert branches.

The project started with a bicycle ride. Lorna Rhyins, Greenwich Library's training librarian, and her husband stopped at Ball & Socket Arts in Cheshire, where a 32-foot outdoor community collage caught her eye.

"This is incredible. We have to do this," Rhyins recalled, according to the Greenwich Sentinel.

Rhyins brought the concept home and partnered with Regan Avery, the Library's local history librarian, who pulled historic photographs from the Library's digital collection. Those earlier streetscapes and vanished structures now sit beside contemporary images submitted by residents depicting central Greenwich, Riverside, Cos Cob, Old Greenwich and Byram.

Connecticut artist Rashmi Talpade led the creative work. A Wallingford resident with a fine arts degree from Sir J.J. School of Fine Art in Bombay, Talpade has created at least 10 community photocollage projects at institutions including Yale New Haven Hospital, the New Britain Museum of American Art and public libraries across Connecticut and New York. Her work is held in the permanent collection of the New Britain Museum of American Art, and she has received a visual arts fellowship from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism.

Talpade taught participants perspective, placing larger images toward the bottom of each panel and smaller ones higher. She worked closely on the sky, layering blue paper and cloud fragments until it became one of the collage's most striking features.

The Library accepted photographs from Jan. 28 through May 15. Suggested subjects ranged from schools and churches to beaches, parks, wildlife and street signs. Photos of individuals and most commercial properties were excluded, though historic locally owned businesses made the cut.

Rhyins said visitors now search the panels for the fragment they placed, and for landmarks they recognize around town.

The seven panels will eventually be split between two permanent locations inside the Library, but for now visitors can view the full panorama in one place. No end date for the combined display has been announced.