East Somerville, the most densely populated section of the most densely populated city in New England, is rich with a plethora of architecture, social and ethnic backgrounds and history. It is ripe with subject matter for the 42 locals who chose to submit their photo for "Interpreting East Somerville," a community photographic exhibition that spans throughout City Hall.

The opening ceremony for the largest art show ever at City Hall will be held Thursday at 93 Highland Avenue from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sponsored by East Somerville Main Streets, the photographs will be up until the end of January.

Most important to those who wanted to immortalize a piece of their city, East Somerville is not just their home, it's their community.

"It's a great idea to display what everyone has captured," said Bill Ritchotte, 41, a broadcast designer, who moved to East Somerville three years ago from another part of the city. "Somerville is one of the cities where people tend to take a lot of pride in living here. It's great to see visually what people are thinking about. It's a visualization of their pride."

Ritchotte, who appreciates gazing at the neighborhood's old homes while walking his rottweiler, submitted a photograph of a structure covered with old vines. It commanded his attention, he said, as a reminder of the old Somerville that is quickly being wiped out by the rising gentrification.

Laurie Vivenzio, 32, a graphic designer, was fascinated by the small footprints painted onto the sidewalks throughout East Somerville. So she took a photograph of them. "I looked down and thought, 'This is a photo of East Somerville,'" she said.

Vivenzio has lived in East Somerville for five years. She bought her first home there, as she fell in love with its subtle charm that she deems "underrated." She doesn't take photographs often, but was delighted at the chance to participate in the exhibition open to everyone in the city.

Renee Polcaro, 25, who works in clinical software sales, also bought her first home in East Somerville a few months ago-a multifamily where she is the proud "landlady." She was living in Brighton, but fell in love with the varied and unique diversity of squares that Somerville offers.

For her photograph, Polcaro waited for a quiet end-of-day moment by Broadway and Cross Street and snapped. Her photo features the fading rosy light and silhouetted buildings. She describes her photo as being littered with moments of normalcy, with folks going about their business in the mix of the hustle bustle and the calm.

"It shows that it is both rural and suburban here," she said. "I had read a lot about the neighborliness of Somerville; how the residents and the city work together in a square-oriented atmosphere."

Both Carrie Dancy, the executive director of ESMS and Christopher Poteet, an ESMS volunteer and East Somerville resident, agree that holding a photography exhibit for all of the community to join-an event without guidelines aside from it being an opportunity for self-expression-makes art accessible to everyone.

And more important, they said, it makes East Somerville more available to everyone.

"People don't always know about East Somerville," Poteet said. "I see a dichotomy of people who live in the neighborhoods and what their impressions are, and those outside of East Somerville and their impressions. A lot of what this show is about is the opportunity to explore East Somerville. In a lot of ways, it is a creative survey."

The show is also a spin-off of the event this past April, "Colors of Americas: East Somerville Artwalk" where artists displayed their work along Lower Broadway storefronts.. It made sense to graduate to putting out an event where the whole community could participate, Poteet said.

"There's a lot of creative and cultural energy in the neighborhoods that often gets overlooked," he said. "We see the arts as a medium to bring people together in a way that nothing else can."

Keith Harris, 38, submitted a photo he took 10 months ago of an old brick chimney atop a building off Broadway. The building has since been rebuilt, and the chimney taken down.

"I captured a moment in time in East Somerville," said Harris, who has lived in Somerville for 11 years, and in East Somerville since 2001. "This is a community where a lot of stuff has happened over the past few years…I see more community in this area and think that it is great that the locals were asked of what they think of East Somerville, and their eye on the city."