Since 2019, the Oceanwide Plaza development in downtown Los Angeles has been in a stagnant state after the Chinese-owned company put the project on hold citing financial issues. Over the past 5 years, the 49-floor skyscrapers that tower over the Crypto Arena have sat empty, completely unused and abandoned. As reported by the Los Angeles Times, graffiti artists have been inspired in recent weeks to take over the project and tag every floor of the 3-building complex. It may be a coincidence, but now Eaton Canyon Natural Area has been hit by one of its biggest vandals in years.
After dark on Saturday, February 10, 2024, an unknown number of vandals walked Eaton Canyon and tagged nearly every sign, road blocker, map, and pole in sight. The vandals even spray-painted the driveway ground itself, several rocks below the Midwick gate, and boulders in the creek below the Pinecrest Gate. The cost of cleanup, including labor, will likely total in the hundreds of dollars. While graffitiing has been a problem for years in Eaton Canyon, this latest round featured graffiti in places that had never been tagged before, including several pieces of Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation property.
It is a misdemeanor to vandalize public property that causes damages of under $400. If caught and convicted, the perpetrators could face up to one year in county jail, a fine of $1,000, and an informal probation. Photographs of the graffiti will not be shown in order to discourage the act. The header photograph is of a different canyon in Southern California from 2020.
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