Incredible graffiti covered building — 5 Pointz in New York City
Posted by FraudWasteAbuse on March 8, 2007
In July 2006 my wife and I took a trip to New York City. She had to go to Philadelphia for a few days for something job-related. I met her there when she was finished and we spent a day in Philadelphia and took a train to New York.
I had never been to either Philadelphia or New York City before, so if was neat to see the landmarks that we all see on television and in movies. When it comes to sightseeing, I am somewhat of a dud, and I never really get that excited about seeing famous stuff. We went and saw the Liberty Bell while we were in Philadelphia. I looked at it for about two seconds and I was ready to move on to better things. There had to have been at least twenty people crowded around the bell, taking pictures of it, and a few people were even filming the bell with their camcorders. Seriously folks, what are you expecting the bell to do?
When we got to New York, we got in plenty of sightseeing. We did and saw all the important stuff: the Empire State Building, Times Square, Chinatown, Little Italy, Grand Central Station, bought fake designer bags in Battery Park. Yet none of that stuff really excited me. Throughout my life I’ve always been drawn to the weird and strange things that most people I know have no interest in. But on the last day of our trip, I got to see something I personally thought was very cool.
My wife knew someone in Queens, so we were lucky enough to be able to stay with them during our vacation. Every morning we would take the number 7 train from Flushing to Times Square and do our sightseeing until it got dark. Every morning on the train we would pass this large building that was totally covered with graffiti, and a lot of it looked really cool. I had to see it up close.
I got my wish on the last day of our trip. The building itself looked like a warehouse or factory of some kind. Unfortunately I didn’t take pictures of every side of the building because the neighborhood didn’t seem the nicest and there were a few shady looking characters around. I still managed to take a ton of pictures and I’m posting some of the best ones here for your enjoyment.
March 9, 2007 at 9:11 am
Cool! So when’s your Urban Exploration trip (or at least a nice post) going to be?
March 9, 2007 at 9:35 am
Hey, you should put up my pictures of LA. They’re pretty cool too. It’s like the California they you don’t see in the movies.
March 9, 2007 at 9:39 am
5 points man. Nice spot. even though it says its all legal theres deff illegal stuff there as well. Glad to see someone who doesnt write enjoy it.
March 9, 2007 at 12:22 pm
I love these pictures, thanks for sharing.
March 9, 2007 at 12:28 pm
[...] Writers organising themselves, and painting sensibly and artistically? Yup. Peep it (well worth a look, don’t miss [...]
March 9, 2007 at 4:32 pm
Hey, I live not too far from there - most of that work was done via a nonprofit known as “the Phun Phactory”. I don’t know if they are still around, or if they changed their name, but its nice to see their stuff is still around….
March 9, 2007 at 4:37 pm
This is excellent - WOW! If more people would put a sign like that “Paint with Permission”
Check out Dolk the Stencil graffiti, I posted some on my blog. Now he just needs some permissions to paint…
http://marcozna.wordpress.com/2007/02/15/dolk-stencil-graffitti/
Thanks for sharing!
March 9, 2007 at 4:58 pm
This is awesome. Thanks for sharing the pics with us.
March 9, 2007 at 5:06 pm
Thanks for the comments, everyone. I’m glad you all are enjoying the pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them!
March 9, 2007 at 5:12 pm
From what I’ve gathered, the Phun Phactory was the name of the company that used to occupy the building. I believe they have since closed.
March 9, 2007 at 5:48 pm
See http://www.thepoint.org. Out of HuntsPoint and linked to 5pointz, n’est pas?
Rex
March 9, 2007 at 6:59 pm
[...] Incredible graffiti covered building — 5 Pointz in New York City In July 2006 my wife and I took a trip to New York City. She had to go to Philadelphia for a few days for something […] [...]
March 9, 2007 at 7:08 pm
nice pics…
March 9, 2007 at 9:41 pm
Fantastic. Great photos too. Thanks for sharing with us.
March 9, 2007 at 9:56 pm
amazing! who says grafitti can’t be considered art?
March 9, 2007 at 10:26 pm
Wow, that’s pretty hot. I’d love to be able to work on something like that one of these days. Thanks for the pics!
March 9, 2007 at 10:31 pm
great pics! way cooler than the standard tourist pics we’ve all seen 1000 times…
March 9, 2007 at 10:38 pm
I’m really grateful you posted those pix. I commute in and out of the city every day and without fail, I always look up from my book or whatever I’m doing to look at that building rush by. It’s beautiful! I’ve always wished I could stop there and look at it but I know I’ll never get around to it, so all I ever see is glimpses of it at 60 mph. Now I have your photos saved on my computer and I finally know a bit of the story behind it. What an incredible place!
March 10, 2007 at 12:31 am
I ride past that everyday on the train…the 7 (above ground). It is SO cool and it’s cool to see it here.
March 10, 2007 at 12:45 am
recognized the view from walking from the 7 to P.S. 1
(also worth a look)
March 10, 2007 at 1:21 am
Yeah, the first pic was taken while I was riding the 7 train.
March 10, 2007 at 2:40 am
Marvy pics.
I liked your text too!
March 10, 2007 at 3:41 am
Spectacular stuff.
March 10, 2007 at 6:58 am
Oh shit! Is awsome! Greets from Poland : -)
March 10, 2007 at 7:26 am
Wow, I wish more buildings looked like this. Much more pleasing to the eye and soul than another cube of beige bricks.
March 10, 2007 at 8:11 am
I’ve seen this building up close - your pictures are excellent!
March 10, 2007 at 8:51 am
That’s awesome. Thanks for the pics.
March 10, 2007 at 8:51 am
Cool!!Never saw such graffity!))
March 10, 2007 at 9:05 am
[...] found this on This Blog. It’s an amazing grafitti covered building where you can pay to spray. (See 2nd Pic) [...]
March 10, 2007 at 10:50 am
Nice! I love to see this kind of grafitti!
March 10, 2007 at 10:51 am
I saw something similar in San Francisco. But this is amazing! Thanks!
March 10, 2007 at 11:06 am
It looks like shit in real life. I mean, the variety of colors is nice, but the overall presentation just looks like careless garbage.
March 10, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Thanks for posting these pictures. I agree, I would rather see something unusual than the regular touristy photos.
March 10, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Hi everyone,
Thanks for the photos. The concept is provacative on several levels:
___ Is this a positive option in areas suffering from urban blight?
___ Is there room for a co-operation between the building owner and the artists, over subject matter, scale, color for background etc.?
___ Has this helped the rest of the neighborhood not be a target for less-responsible artists?
___ Is this a way for the huge upkeep costs of painting a building like this one to be born by the community in exchange for creating something interesting (and hopefully uplifting and a source of community pride)?
___ Will other building owners be willing to provide their building’s canvas if safety issues and creative issues can be successfully addressed?
By showing what already exists, you have helped other stricken neighborhoods with a possible solution to building maintainance, and finding untapped sources to build cmmunity pride.
You have also exposed the need for venues for public, creative expression. Public art could hopefully go “beyond” the sanctioned work in parks and outside banks, as long as there was mutual respect involved in the project.
Best to all —
Em
http://diabetesdietdialogue.wordpress.com
March 10, 2007 at 3:16 pm
holy! how’d they hav time 2 do that?
March 10, 2007 at 3:40 pm
really cool!
March 10, 2007 at 3:47 pm
i live in nyc, that is actually an art project really, as evidenced by the notice on the door. there was a new york times article when they closed the building for painting. the inside was painted with graffiti when they closed the building. most of the graffitti is by the city’s premier graffiti artists.
March 10, 2007 at 4:01 pm
I was born and raised in NYC and live and work here now. You might be interested in reading Subway Lives by Jim Dwyer. It is about NYC when subway tagging (graffiti) was big. It is an incredible book. Dwyer is also the co-author of 102 Minutes, also an incredible book about being inside the twin towers on 9/11. While NYC is much more cleaned up than depicted in Subway Lives, the whole graffiti thing is so interesting. I kinda miss the grim sometimes.
March 10, 2007 at 4:41 pm
I see this building twice a day on the 7 train. I’m glad somebody stopped to appreciate it!
March 10, 2007 at 5:04 pm
“white house” is the next turn.
March 10, 2007 at 5:07 pm
Incredible building right in my neighborhood of Queens!
March 10, 2007 at 5:10 pm
That is great! I’m from Michigan and while we do have some graffiti artists here, nothing even close to being as brilliant and unique as that building is. Outstanding!
March 10, 2007 at 5:41 pm
Perfect photos… Can i use them in my blog ?
March 10, 2007 at 5:43 pm
Wow!!! These are amazing pics!!! How did they tag in the middle of that building? Nice. Did you get a chance to handycam it? Did you get a chance to see other graffiti art around the city? Great pics! Just a hello from Jakarta, Indonesia.
March 10, 2007 at 6:15 pm
I don’t mind as long as you reference them back to this post.
March 10, 2007 at 7:10 pm
that is how we are turning into slams more and more while continue to like it and calling it an art. I personally like that truelly, but objectively this is a deviance of some sort that leads to something not so good. Thought provocative of negative decend.
March 10, 2007 at 7:17 pm
whoa! Its almost ugly, its awesome!
March 10, 2007 at 7:26 pm
V
March 10, 2007 at 7:26 pm
Great pictures, crisp and clear!
March 10, 2007 at 7:48 pm
Thanks for showing this, it IS a work of art! Your pictures are really good as well…
March 10, 2007 at 8:30 pm
Cool stuff, it’s amazing some of the areas they were able to get to. I figured it must have been a legal spot because they didn’t paint over the windows like I often see.
March 10, 2007 at 8:35 pm
I see it all the time on my way to work! Its amazing!
March 10, 2007 at 8:43 pm
That was way cool…awlsome!
Smiels and world peace,
Shaon
http://www.BabyBoomerAdvisorClub.com
March 10, 2007 at 8:52 pm
That isn’t vandilism. It’s art.
March 10, 2007 at 9:51 pm
[...] amazing graffiti covered building I saw this post featured on wordpress.com and I thought it was pretty cool. I’ve been thinking about [...]
March 10, 2007 at 10:10 pm
You certainly do have unique interests. You should give a shoutout to Tina and her friend for driving us all over the place to find this building.
March 10, 2007 at 10:30 pm
Thanks for the comments everyone. It makes me want to go back and take more pictures!
March 10, 2007 at 11:22 pm
I know that some people might not agree but I think this building is absolutely beautiful. Thanks for sharing the pics.
March 11, 2007 at 2:59 am
I love it! I think the building is awesome! Thanks so much for the great photo set.
March 11, 2007 at 3:30 am
wow..so much graffitti there.in malaysia, i can’t see yet the whole building covered with it.only some part of walls in shopping complexes have it.really enjoy ur photo..thanks
March 11, 2007 at 4:13 am
amazing shots, just amazing
March 11, 2007 at 4:17 am
Wonderful stuff. Funny to think that some people would consider this ‘vandalism’. Nice pics.
March 11, 2007 at 5:03 am
Incredible graffiti covered building
In July 2006 my wife and I took a trip to New York City. She had to go to Philadelphia for a few days for something job-related. I met her there when she was finished and we spent a day in Philadelphia and took a train to New York. I had never been to …
March 11, 2007 at 9:15 am
Cool post. Every neighborhood should have some kind of expression like that. If not that, something people can get involved in.
March 11, 2007 at 9:29 am
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March 11, 2007 at 11:06 am
bravó. yes
March 12, 2007 at 5:58 am
That’s cool! Feels like living inside a comic book, eh?
A grafitti gank in my country gives back to the society. They went to this abandoned kindergarten in shantytown, and paint the sad-looking classroom into a wonderful work of art that makes the children smile: http://tunascendekia.org/wordpress/archives/243
This is just great
March 12, 2007 at 12:15 pm
[...] This building in NYC is almost totally covered in grafitti, and is totally awesome. [...]
March 12, 2007 at 12:25 pm
I’ve seen this from the train too, it’s very impressive! I figured someone was allowing it to be there, now i see that is true. Thanks for the pics!
March 13, 2007 at 4:57 am
[...] read here about this building (supposedly a warehouse) in New York City that is thoroughly covered in [...]
March 14, 2007 at 1:05 am
Nice! You should hit up some of the spots in Philadelphia
March 14, 2007 at 5:05 am
I spent a summer in New York, all the way from Ireland, I was there to take time out and decide what to do with my life (design, art?) look at and photograph art and especially graffiti. On my second day, I got hopelessly lost and was starting to panic, I never wrote down the address where I was staying and was miles away, then suddenly here’s this building. It’s one of my best NYC memories, thanks for bringing them back.
March 14, 2007 at 3:36 pm
I’ve lived in Manhattan for 6 years now, and can’t believe I haven’t heard seen or stumbled upon this brilliant building. Where exactly in Queens is it located?!
March 15, 2007 at 11:47 am
I Paint there all the time with Meres Oner, the shit is sick and fully legal……Fuck the Pigs Cops……DMB>>>>>
March 15, 2007 at 9:17 pm
Holy balls, that’s awesome!
March 16, 2007 at 5:46 am
Gorjuice, dude. Thanks for posting this, I´ll be visitint ASAP!
March 16, 2007 at 11:55 am
Hey this reminds me of another Street Art project that I read about in New York on 11 Spring St. They invited several artists to come in and paint the whole building inside and out and then had a “Gallery” event for the public. Google it or check out http://www.globalgraphica.com/main/archives/000683.html for more info.
Thanks for the post. I love this stuff
March 17, 2007 at 10:24 am
I dislike graffiti except where it is on panels provided for the purpose. Then a work can be appreciated for being inspired, clean and cool, rather than sicko-adolescent. The building looks fussy and messy. If a restaurant served something on a plate that looked like that, all sloshed about, it would win le cordon merde or something. Cy Quick at mydigest.wordpress.com
March 18, 2007 at 6:31 am
[...] - but looking at it from that aspect it’s a lot more interesting. It totally reminds me of that amazing graffitti covered building in New York or the Dolk stencils I’ve posted [...]
March 18, 2007 at 6:41 pm
[...] Atlanta. I’ve always loved street art, and after the overwhelming positive response to my graffiti pictures, I really want to get out and snap some pictures of some really great looking graffiti around [...]
March 19, 2007 at 9:10 am
HARDIMITZN!!!!!!!
March 19, 2007 at 11:54 am
It never ceases to amaze me.
Some people see art, while others see blight. People who see blight, are under some illusion that they live in a well ordered world. One can only believe such a myth by not looking.
As a child I was told, “this is the way it is done”. Knowing little to nothing else, I desperately wanted to believe that I now knew how it was done. But later I looked and saw others doing it, and they weren’t doing it the way I had learned. Eh?
What’s this? How could that be?
Oh?!? So there’s more than one way to do things? Why wasn’t I told that?
But, time and time again if you look, you’ll find that things just aren’t only the way you have come to think that they are. Even in mathematics you’ll find that meanings and formula change with the change in type of equation.
Albert Einstein said that there is order within disorder and disorder within order. Take that to heart and get on with appreciating what is.
[My two cents]… And I love it, it’s
really cool and I’m in NYC where I can
take pictures of it myself this summer.
Obwon
March 19, 2007 at 12:13 pm
Hey, I just went over there too and took some pictures myself. Check it out: http://hahamusic.wordpress.com/2007/03/12/adams-saturday-adventure-at-5-pointz/
March 19, 2007 at 1:44 pm
Dang, that is incredible.
March 20, 2007 at 4:43 am
I just got another picture from Dolk’s stencil graffiti. I think we’ll need to ask him to drop buy the Phun Phactory and do some parts…
http://marcozna.wordpress.com/2007/03/20/another-dolk-stencil-in-copenhagen/
I mean there are plenty of better pictures around but I’m posting only those I took - except for the Marathon Runner.
March 20, 2007 at 6:57 pm
the house of my dreams
March 21, 2007 at 3:36 pm
Great photos. I miss living in New York City, although most graffiti makes me angry. It’s not only bad for property owners, but is often downright ugly. That graffiti looked very professional. There are a lot of abandoned buildings in Queens and Brooklyn that could use a touch up. Maybe graffiti’s not such a bad thing after all.
March 23, 2007 at 4:11 am
even as stand alone photos they are colourful and nice
March 26, 2007 at 12:44 pm
[...] Imágenes: Creo que rayaron un poco mi edificio. [...]
March 29, 2007 at 10:47 am
Wow that is amazing!
-Matt
http://www.mattgunn.ca
April 4, 2007 at 12:39 pm
wow!!!! amaising photos!
April 9, 2007 at 9:24 pm
those are so amazing to look at! what’s a more unique adjective…
incredible? lol.
ich liebe es!
April 11, 2007 at 5:20 am
very nice i have sent the site to friends in newyark
April 17, 2007 at 1:26 pm
it is fucking amasing why can we do shit like that in the uk its art
April 26, 2007 at 9:11 am
this is pretty awesome, thanks for posting. all kinds of new textures to sample.
May 1, 2007 at 8:21 am
I love it. I was always a believer that “art has a frame” and I don’t think this contradicts that. By saying that art has a frame, we tend to think too literally. Having a frame only suggests that someone put it in a frame because it meant something to them and they wanted it displayed. These walls are full of that kind of art. People found things that meant something to them and displayed it (in a very large way). The fact that someone else like you found it fascinating and chose to display it yourself backs up this notion. I find it very depressing to think that the people who painted that art are highly criticized and sometimes punished. They have truly found a creative outlet and while it may not be smiled upon now, it certainly will soon enough. Just as Picasso or Van Gogh were rejected in their time, they were recognized later and are now among the most famous artists known to man. Once again, I loved what you did with those pictures.
June 18, 2007 at 10:31 am
Yes, 5 Pointz ( the graffiti building) is a very cool place. EVERYONE is cool there. You can’t judge people by the way they look. In fact a higher percentage of the graffiti writers are older guys with good jobs and families. And now more then ever, more and more female writers are showcasing their skills. We have many tourist’s that come and take photos without a problem. In fact, there are never problems there. Everyone is cool, even the “shady looking characters” Remember, don’t judge someone by their looks.
July 23, 2007 at 5:27 pm
well i live in brooklyn all my life, and the neighborhood where that building is located is actually really safe. i work around that area, and i luv that building, u should check the one in spanish harlem, also a few following on the L train. and i have to agree with anthony, most of the writers are back from the old school days. most of the art that is on that building are from artists that live in other countries. where tagging means something. here is just another way to be commercial.
October 2, 2007 at 9:51 am
BmXf6u good photo
November 13, 2007 at 12:55 pm
Years ago, my neighborhood watch group painted over the graffiti in the neighborhood (Venice, CA). The vandals screamed and our city councilwoman had a press conference where she apologised and promised not to let the paint-out happen again.
December 3, 2007 at 8:02 am
I am one of the people involved with 5 Pointz. Everyone should come down and have a look around. There are many new pieces on the building. My partner MERES started 5 Pointz around 5 years ago, after it was the Phun Factory and this is my 2nd year helping Meres with the run of the place. . Meres definately set 5 Pointz in the right direction and it is looking AMAZING these days. However, We run 5 Pointz out of love for Graffiti. We get no pay and it’s becoming a full time gig. The landlord doesn’t see 5 Pointz and its world wide fame the way we do. He really doesn’t understand the what this place means to the us, the artists, photographers and the oridinary people that just enjoy to walk around and take in the sights…such a shame. There is no fee to come down and paint. You must bring your own paint and clean up after yourself…thats it! We supply ladders and roll paint. We had all our ladders stolen one evening and desperately need some. So heres my plea…..If anyone can make any type of donation, whether it be a old ladder that you have in your garage, some left over roll paint or can even donate a couple of dollars….50 cents even…it will eventually add up for us to buy the necessary equipment needed for 5 Pointz to survive. If you would like to dontate, please contact myself Anthony/ DIZM: Shadow128@rcn.com or Meres: Meresone@aol.com
Thank You!
May 6, 2008 at 11:25 am
Nice pics. That place is legendary!