Southern California -- this just in

« Previous Post | L.A. NOW Home | Next Post »

Massive graffiti scrawl finally being removed from L.A. River


Officials today began removing a massive piece of graffiti from the Los Angeles River in downtown L.A.

This concrete channel east of downtown runs through two rail yards and has become the ultimate proving ground for graffiti vandals vying for visibility and reputation. 

The centerpiece is something officials say is one of the biggest tags in the United States: Three block letters that cover a three-story-high wall and run the length of several blocks between the 4th Street and 1st Street bridges. It spells out "MTA" -- Metro Transit Assassins. 

A group of alleged taggers were arrested in January in connection with the "MTA" graffiti. They are awaiting trial and are being asked to pay restitution if they are convicted.

These huge graffiti projects take paint rollers, not spray cans. Some of the most elaborate tags take days.

Cleaning graffiti from the river is far more expensive than cleaning other areas. Officials use high-pressure water spray to remove the toxic paint. But hazardous-material crews must then dam and capture all the runoff to prevent it from getting into the riverbed.

-- Shelby Grad

Contractor workers for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers begin painting over the gigantic letters, "MTA," along the concrete bank of the Los Angeles River Thursday Oct. 8, 2009. "MTA" stands for "Metro Transit Assassins." Authorities contend the letters were painted on the riverbank by up to 40 taggers. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

More breaking news in L.A. Now:

Burned body found in Dumpster is not Mitrice Richardson's, police say

H1N1 flu nasal spray vaccine has arrived in Los Angeles

Border agents find 36 pounds of cocaine hidden in car doors


Orange County Fairgrounds officially put up for sale by state

Venice agency buys 20-unit building to provide affordable housing for homeless




Brown leads Newsom for governor; Republicans undecided, Field poll finds



Comments () | Archives (61)

The comments to this entry are closed.

This is a good thing. Just hope the people whom did this once wise up and do not do it again. Parents please control and teach your sons and daughters who write on our walls, bridges, freeways and river walls. It is costing us the the tax payer too much money to keep it clean. Thank you parents. Most of these parents probably do not even know what a computer is or even know if postings or articles like this one was every written. Damn, I wasted my words.

Kids in LA have nothing better to do than paint this sort of graffiti? Must be pretty boring out there. LOL!

A Vermontah

If this area is a constant graffiti eyesore, why don't they install a security camera in that area? Rather than shelling out taxpayer dollars for clean-up by city crews day after day! Government officials already install camera's everywhere else.

No photo on a post about the biggest graffiti?

Justice for every individual. Provide a venue for him to express himself. Youth are rude people, they have a right to be.

thumbs up. Youth expression is KEY.

What a whaste of money and time!!


This is not vandalism, it's public art. I highly doubt anyone found a blocks-long set of letters offensive. Rather it provided a visual and artistic relief from the brutal and unnatural grey cement walls that reign in the formerly wild river.

The paint in question is not toxic once it dries, provided it is not sandblasted into the river. These are misguided and wasteful efforts aimed at removing part of L.A.'s lively cultural heritage. The city should instead find a productive way to encourage and fund public art projects such as these.

why can't the taggers clean up? make them work under the hot sun with no break. they most likely don't have $$ to pay so make them clean up.

Why didn't the 'real' MTA (Metropolitan Transit Authority) took the opportunity and made sure to take the credit and not the taggers (by adding 'Metropolitan Transit Authority' and even add their website on there too). It would take the credit away from the taggers and sure they would be pissed.

Also, why not add some derogatory word with an arrow pointing to the name to the other tags around the town. That would take away some of their creditability (not that they had any to begin with). Add a little fun to the graffiti.

Harsher penalties are necessary in dealing with this type of problem. We do not have stiff enough sentencing in these type of cases. There is a basic problem with a certain element in our city and our officials are willing to effectively rid our streets of these urban terrorists. We are losing ground every single day...

I'm so sorry to see this LA landmark obliterated. I'm an Angelino from birth and in all my years, I've never seen the built environment in downtown as beautiful as it is now -- with all the high-quality urban art. The giant MTA piece is/was much more than a thoughtless, artless tag; it was well-executed urban art genius.

I guess part of the beauty of such art is that it’s temporary. It’s a little like life, no? Enjoy it now, before it’s too late.

The real tragedy is just that my cash-poor city prioritized the art removal over some other (and by my calculus more worthy and effective) expenditure.

Let me get this straight: schools are pink slipping teachers, the LAPD (which is dangerously understaffed) has a hiring freeze in effect, water mains are flooding neighborhoods across the city, our country is fighting two wars, yet we're spending big money to remove graffiti along the L.A. River. Who are the cabbageheads who approve these projects? Why aren't we calling for their ousters with torches and pitchforks in hand? The graffiti which is being removed today will be back up in a week, but schools, police stations, and water mains will still be inundated with problems (pun intended). Que lastima.

Wow, uh, yeah!! It sure looks beautiful now. The transmission line towers are especially scenic.

Make no mistake about it. These "taggers" are vandals, and are as murderous as they are destructive. I hope they are convicted and put away.

The piece done by MTA was known as a roller piece/burner, not categorized as a tag. There is sort of a hierarchy to graffiti when it comes to the different terminology. As young kid who used to go and spray the walls around LA county back when I was a juvenile, I picked up these terms through other writers.

A tag-simple writing of your moniker with a marker, scribe, etc.
Throw up- simple bubble letters either 1,2, or 3 colors.
Piece or Bomb-multicolored piece that can range from a variety of styles
Burner-An elaborate piece that takes an elongated amount of time to do.

Anyway thats just some knowledge I thought I would share. Its kind of sad to see the city council waste money on cleaning this up, thinking its going to beautify that part of Los angeles.

That entire area is poverty stricken.

They wasted countless amounts of dollars buffing the SABER AWR MSK piece as well as the MTA roller, when the money should have gone to rebuilding after school programs, or helping pay for more teachers in need of jobs. If they really wanted to make LA better they need to revamp that entire river.
You can blame people like Gloria Molina for being an idiot and thinking cleaning up graffiti will erase the problem.

Don't just erase the graffiti. Erase the punks who subject us to this blight. Oh I'm sorry, for some of us Angelenos this is young people "expressing" themselves.

The concrete in the river is a much bigger eyesore. If it wasn't there, it would not of been tagged. Graffiti is part of the urban landscape, having a piece this big should be celebrated. It is quite an accomplishment.

Harsher penalties? We should be harnessing artists who have such great talent. Prison wouldn't help anyone. Let's turn all of those ugly blank surfaces into works of art.

I like it, why are they removing it?

And this monstrous ditch we call a river is not an eyesore? Please. There isn't a concrete surface on L.A. city property that isn't improved by graffiti. Security cams? To protect A HIDEOUS DITCH??? There's good use of taxpayer money...

I'm with TimB. Where's the photos?

If they know their hands are going to cut off this wouldn't have happened. Am for harsh punishment.

What a waste of money to make this a priority. Where is a photo to go along with this post?

1 2 3 | »


Recommended on Facebook


In Case You Missed It...


About L.A. Now
Have a story tip for L.A. Now?
Please send to newstips@latimes.com
Can I call someone with news?


Get Alerts on Your Mobile Phone

Sign me up for the following lists:

In Case You Missed It...