October 8, 2007 · Derek

Saving the Murray Morgan Bridge

In case you’ve forgotten about it – and it has been a while since we’ve talked about it – but the TNT reminded us this weekend that efforts to save the 11th Street Bridge are far from over.

Last week at the City Council study session we heard about possible state or federal funding for the Bridge as part of the City of Tacoma’s legislative goals. And in Sunday’s Tribune was a summary of the options the City and the State are jointly considering.

There’s a possibility of turning the bridge into a pedestrian-only bridge, with allowances for emergency vehicles. If structural improvements would be too expensive, officials are considering locking the bridge in an upright position to allow boat traffic to pass underneath.

Structural tests may force the issue to a head soon.

We hope good things are in the works. We hope…

Recently on Exit133

Link to the News Tribune

Poster by Beautiful Angle

47 comments

Dave January 11, 2008

I think that’s a darn shame. That graffiti was awesome!
Brotha E January 11, 2008

That’s too bad, looks like nice work. So if your asked and paid out of the city’s art budget it’s a mural but if certain persons don’t like your work although free it’s called graffti? Are not all artist artist
Andrew January 11, 2008

Brotha E:

I think that’s a relatively simplified way of looking at it. This issue gets rather complicated.

If Wm Riley contracted people to paint on their walls, then it’s fine. If they didn’t, and people are defacing private property, then that’s illegal. Of course, if Wm Riley doesn’t mind their property being painted on, then they’re free to let it continue.

Then again (and I’ll be the first to admit I’m not well-read on gang symbols in the northwest), there could very well be some symbols painted on representing not very nice people/actions, so the city could then come down hard on them for allowing appeals to violence on their walls.

Like I said. Tricky.
elle January 11, 2008

It’s a shame if you ask me. I know a few photographers in the area that love those garages just for the art. Why buy backdrops for senior portraits when you have built-in ones. Now the tagging over the top of the actual graffiti bugs me.
intacoma January 11, 2008

most of the work in there was rip plus, a young artist who passed. Some of the most amazing graf in the nw was there. Thanks tacoma.
drizell January 11, 2008

Aren’t those garages slated to be torn down anyway to build the Lorig apartment project?
kbce January 11, 2008

Way to send mixed messages to artists, City of Tacoma. We’ll be a city of character, but the character has to be “clean”… ? I’d be curious to hear the reasoning behind this.
Broadweezy January 11, 2008

Wow, another peice of Tacoma soul gone to the coffers. However, I hope someone has a last chance to capture some more photos for the RIP Tacoma yearbook. I’m dissapointed that the art/graffiti/tags/“canned” expression ~~whatever you choose to call it~~ wasn’t considered worth protecting or keeping by any party (public or private). For if it was, I would think there would have been more public opinion gathering of some sort before. Also, I wouldn’t consider the graffiti to be “unartisitc” – even other amateur taggers would leave it unharmed, perhaps in artistic reverence to Plus.
Brotha E January 11, 2008

Nice to know that Im not the only one who can recognize graffti art as opposed to tagging. My guess is that Riley isn’t the one behind the removal since it seems to have been there for quite some time.
Brotha E January 11, 2008

I have a temporary replacement wall if someone knows of a graffiti artist willing to put something on Hilltop. I just love that stuff
Fussy McSquishytuche' January 11, 2008

the amount of control required to operate a can of spray paint is equal or greater to the amount of control required to operate a paint brush.

that graffiti was a gift.
it was a gift to the memory of “plus” and a gift to the citizens of tacoma. what little culture we cling to in the future will include memories of that garage and the artists who painted in it.

the city and the people who owned that garage honored that gift for a long time, but it was being defaced on a daily basis. (ironic, no? defacing graffiti?) perhaps it was time to let it pass.

we can be pissed that the gift is gone, or we can figgure out a way to allow the gift to be given again.

check out the embellish building on your way up 11th… for example.
Sassy McButterpants January 11, 2008

The graffiti was great, of course- But don’t you think a graffiti artist also has some understanding of the impermanence of their work? Just like those monks in wherever that make those mandalas and then dismantal them!

“The dismantling process symbolizes the Buddhist belief in the transience of life and the ideal of nonattachment to the material world”

If you look at it like this… this is all very deep.
RR Anderson January 11, 2008

Hey City Hall, how about doing something REALLY IMPRESSIVE… like get rid of the god damn Clear Channel graffiti clogging my horizon(s)? Why are you clowns picking on the kids?
Violet Vodka January 11, 2008

I hate to say I Told You So…no I don’t. Sadly, I love being right and too often I am. This is why I get antsy about my non-mainstream art…which will make a reappearance when the weather clears.
The City of Tacoma sucks. They want to reduce us all to Dockers and Nikes. Step by step anything that is not bland will be targeted and outlawed. The City of Tacoma loves the Prison Yard Plaza downtown…and that concrete/cesspool is their true idea of Public Art. Defacing public property? I say the condo-vomit that’s been tossed around town lately is the true defacement.
Erik B. January 11, 2008

If Wm Riley contracted people to paint on their walls, then it’s fine. If they didn’t, and people are defacing private property, then that’s illegal. Of course, if Wm Riley doesn’t mind their property being painted on, then they’re free to let it continue.

Its not clear how much of this is driven by the city and how much by Riley.

Riley could certainly follow the model of Embellish if he wanted to. One has the right to paint their wall how they want. The city certainly doesn’t force someone to have blank walls. However, it may be cost efficient to simply paint them over.

He could hire or let some someone paint something like Embellish. One difference between Embellish and Rileys garages look to be that there are tags over alot of the art.
intacoma January 11, 2008

checkout http://in-tacoma.net to read the email from amy re the painting. Most of the art in there was legal, recently there has been some defacement though. These garages are going the way of the wind soon so it would have been lost either way but man..what a bummer :(
Jenyum January 11, 2008

The city squandered an opportunity to take ownership of something really cool. Maybe too many people complained because they didn’t understand what it was all about.

What they should have done was invest in a big ole’ sign that proudly proclaims “Graffiti Garages” and describes the history of them a little. Then whatever complaints are made, at least it is understood that it’s art.

Too late now, anyway. Kind of gives me a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Broadweezy January 11, 2008

Jenyum couldn’t have said it better.
Brotha E January 11, 2008

Maybe it was causing people not to eat downtown.
Mal January 11, 2008

Someone should take Brotha E up on that Hilltop wall… this could turn into something really cool and positive.
Jason Hulen January 11, 2008

A piece of Tacoma’s hip-hop history has been lost. There have been many artists nationally that have come and blessed those walls with murals. These garages allowed artists to gain knowledge and paint legally.

I know the threat that grafitti has on cities, but they don’t realize the larger opportunities that it poses. Tacoma is losing out on one of the only canvases that changed weekly.

But that won’t stop the artists out there. They will find spots to paint.
grubedoo January 11, 2008

Assuming it was really a city mandate … isn’t the bigger issue here the governments dictation of what does and does not remain on the walls of a private business?
Andrew January 11, 2008

Erik:

That’s what I was getting at. I’ll admit, I’ve never seen the garage, and I’m sure the original job was very nice.

But if gangs started defacing the mural with tags, that’s probably where the problem would start. For a drastic example, I’m sure the city wouldn’t look too fondly on Aryan Brotherhood gangs tagging it up with swastikas and the like.

I’ll be honest, I’m not a big fan of graffiti, legal or not. But if private individuals want to offer space up for it, I say more power to them. If you get anything going with that wall, Brotha E, let me know. I’ll be the clueless white guy walking by saying “What’s them squiggly lines all about?”
Crenshaw Sepulveda January 11, 2008

Yeah, what a good idea, just paint over the art in the garage before the Aryan Brotherhood thinks about painting on it. Somewhere there are Neo-Nazi’s in their hole lamenting their lost opportunity.
drizell January 12, 2008

CONFIRMED:

The garages are going to be torn down anyway to make room for this new apartment building:

http://www.lorig.com/d_727broadway.htm

So regardless of whether covering up the graffiti was a good idea or not, the garages will likely soon be torn down to be replaced by a much more beneficial use of the site. Time to move on.
in-tacoma January 12, 2008

I think a few of you missed it here, since when can the city regulate and threaten to fine people on what they have on private property?

Andrew since you never saw it ill help inform you that it was not gang related.

Having another space is not going to bring back the work that was dedicated to a fallen artist.
Mary January 12, 2008

It seems to me that the city’s time (and $$$) would have been better spent removing the tags plastered ALL over town.
Jake January 12, 2008

“I think a few of you missed it here, since when can the city regulate and threaten to fine people on what they have on private property?”

Since forever!

building permits,
Property Taxes,
Paul Post anyone?

If the graffiti wasn’t visible from the sidewalk or street then it would have been fine. Since it was in view of the public and I guess the owner did not hire the artist the city must regulate the graffiti like any other building in town.

Also FYI:
http://wspwit01.ci.tacoma.wa.us/download/PDF/notices/January2008/40000105171REV.pdf
in-tacoma January 12, 2008

I was refering to what art you could or could not have in your own space. There was concent for nearly all of that work in there. If the case of what is visible then I guess the mural on embellish is next, and then 6th ave.
in-tacoma January 12, 2008

consent*
morgan January 12, 2008

Very sad.

Aren’t these the buildings that are coming down soon for redevelopment?

It’s too bad the owners didn’t give a little more warning so that the art could be documented.
morgan January 12, 2008

…I just answered my own question.

(must read all posts first)

It’s still sad though.
Crenshaw Sepulveda January 13, 2008

Apartments may be a good use of the space that is being occupied by the parking garage. I hope Lorig can pull it off. The web site says this project is in the “planning stage”. If any one from Lorig reads this I’d recommend building affordable condos on the site. Do something creative and bold to get some of our young people into owning their housing in the downtown area. I don’t want to hear that 300 bucks a square foot is affordable. I don’t want to hear that a 400 square foot studio is affordable. Be creative, be bold. Our young people don’t need stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops. They need a foothold in the community and the ability to be part of building the community for the future. Lorig, think like raw, mostly unfinished loft space. No more cookie cutter projects. Build up the community and then go in for the killing on the high value condos. Build the place that Violet Vodka can afford and we’ll have the community you can profit off of in the future.

I’m just very sad the art in the garages couldn’t die a natural death in the demolition process. I’m with some of the others commenting here, this just make me ill.
beerBoy January 13, 2008

Hip-hop culture was all cool and cutting edge…..a quarter of a century ago….but it is the next big thing in Tacoma. You can see that when J-La, the Pierce Co. Executive takes time out from his golfing to give out awards to all the “gangsta” hip-hoppers.

Whine – the City of Tacoma doesn’t support outlaw art! How can we be dangerous gangstas if the City doesn’t sanction it?
beerBoy January 13, 2008

I remember the glory days like it was yesterday. I was living in O-Town and Too Short was peddling tapes from the trunk of his car.

It was over as soon as Hammer dropped the MC from his name and danced for KFC (imagine that! and African-American doing happy dances for fired chicken, too bad he couldn’t have squeezed in a plug for watermelons to complete the stereotype). Then Ice Cube blew his social consciousness cred by pimping for St. Ides Male liquor.
beerBoy January 13, 2008

Ummm, that shoulda been malt liquor but male liquor kinda works…..
snoopy January 13, 2008

did the “CITY” require this to be painted over? I find that hard to swallow….

Can anyone confirm that this is the “CITYs” fault, or is it simply a private property owner who painted over the walls?
Tressie January 13, 2008

do ya’ll remember when former mayor, Brian, was all high on building movie theaters and gawl knows what on that section of Broadway.
I was still in Rampart then and no one at that time on antique row thought any changes would ever happen, and Look Now!
Crenshaw…..that’s right!
Build what is affordable.
Or at least green. You know, as in Green. not gr$een. ‘K?
sidebar – Have you seen the ads for The Mecca? giggle giggle…….Come and Take a Peek(p).
Mofo from the Hood January 13, 2008

That “art” wouldn’t be an issue if those “artists” would have painted on butcher paper and then applied the “artworks” to the garage walls with wheat paste.
Crenshaw Sepulveda January 13, 2008

It is all the medium, Mofo, some paint on walls, some on ceilings. Some paint on the canvas and some on the box car door. Ancient man painted on the walls of caves in France.I think the artist will choose the medium which works best. I don’t think Michelangelo would have worked well on wheat paste and paper applied to the chapel ceiling. As Paul Simon wrote, “And the sign said, “The words of the prophets are Written on the subway walls-and tenement halls” And whispered in the sounds of silence.” I will not argue with the art, it does not argue with me.

Just about every advertisement for these fancy new condo projects speak of “living the urban lifestyle”. What exactly do people think is the “urban lifestyle”? I get this feeling they are selling the Disneyland version of the “urban lifestyle” with fake trees, clean shaved street vendors, and a parade every night down main street. In short it sounds like the mall, except they want to be downtown. The “urban lifestyle”, what is so hilarious is that the developers can’t even sell the Disney version, they can only sell some vague promise of some potential future Disneyland version.
morgan January 14, 2008

The fact that nearly half our youth do not graduate high school suggest something larger is going on besides not learning the three R’s.

Our youth need more opportunities to get involved in the community in meaningful ways. If we don’t give them a reason to stay, then why should they? And in the meantime, why should they care?

Random idea:
I would like to see a survey done by the school district every few years which asks its high school seniors what their future plans are, what their perceptions of Tacoma are, and if they are going away for college plan on coming back.

Re: post 38
I know usually the city only acts on blight matters after a certain number (3? 5?) of complaints have been made. With gang tags though, they don’t wait for the calls to come in. It wouldn’t surprise me if some complaints were filed though.
Mofo from the Hood January 14, 2008

Good stuff C.S.

Whether we’re discussing graffiti or advertising, both mediums put forth a view or value for consideration.

In this graffiti instance, maybe it was a case of violence to private property.

In advertising, maybe it’s always a case of violence to personal boundaries.

Both instances are cases of propagandizing to unwilling recipients.

Personally, I think it’s strange that whether we’re discussing this instance of graffiti or your remark about advertising, that the common factor between the two is that they are named or branded like commodities. Hip hop graffiti or urban lifestyle condos. I think that the public relations industry would describe that branding as necessary for positioning—-as in gaining ground in the battle for men’s minds.

So, what is the value of that graffiti? What is the value of an urban lifestyle condo? Is either of them worthy of serious consideration?

Tacoma: A town of poets or a town of serious thinkers?
Crenshaw Sepulveda January 14, 2008

“The prices for a condo in downtown Tacoma seem to favor the professional downsizing couple more than any young person. I have this fear that Tacoma will gentrify before it’s ever cool. We’ll see.” Derek of Exit 133

I’d like to see those words on a Beautiful Angle poster, or scrawled on a garage in downtown. I want to see those words on the bus advertising cards and on the billboards. I’m pretty sure that Derek is spot on. A community designed for downsizing professional couples will never be cool.
Tressie January 15, 2008

um, kids, I think Tacoma has always been “cool”. What was cool was that it had authenticity and a carefree pluralist attitude. I tagged it “The city of medium-size Shoulders”. It was/is a working-class town with a few mini-moguls sprinkled in. Yeah, sure not much excitement, but a fabulous place to raise kids.
Everything was cheap, and everyone who had a job, could dream of buying something to live in …..real homeownership. That is OVER.
Authenticity is Cool. Graffiti Art is cool. Blue collar people owning their own home is cool.
Yeah sure it’s fun to tour the art museums and art places, but that doesn’t make Tacoma cool. That makes Tacoma more funner. Tho, I know that art saves lives. Graffiti art gives kids/artists a sense of home-ownership.
All the museums did not inspire great design around Tacoma. It is all becoming Pre-Fab Kit-Urban Experience. What’s cool about Tacoma is the Old Buildings, the Murray M. Bridge, trains & tideflats, Union Station remodel/reuse, saving old buildings for UWT, Never Never Land. None of these are/were pretentious. Now faux-sophistication is the new Thang.
This,of course does not make me happy.
Acumensch January 16, 2008

I drove by the Helm Gallery today and noticed all that art was gone. It makes me so upset at the city. I wrote my thoughts on my blog:

http://aeconomics.blogspot.com/2008/01/toward-theory-of-public-ritual.html
Peter Whitley January 17, 2008

I’m sad.

I am ambivalent about graffiti as an art style or social statement (with its anti-social connotations) but what I really like is the idea that if I have an idea for an “illustration” or feel in the mood for some giant “caligraphy” or don’t have enough canvas for my next “attempt at abstracting the human form to reflect the impact of consumerist ideals on the urban social sphere,” that I now have one less place where it would be accepted, reflected upon, and essentially legitimate…and if that isn’t one long sentence, I don’t what is.
Tressie January 17, 2008

graffiti and graffiti-style-art- aren’t the same thing.
Impressionism was hated ! Now it is the backbone of many prestigious art collections.
“I hated conventional art,” said Mary Cassatt, a leading American artist of the 19th and 20th centuries. “When I joined the Impressionists, I began to live.”