Spirit of '76

I received the following note from reader Jim Duffy, along with photos from his friend Amy L. Anderson:



In Lower Manhattan, at the corner of Broad Street and South Street, is a wall about six feet high that faces out to New York Harbor. It's part of the office complex of 125 Broad Street. The wall is being repaired, and as the white facing material is being removed, we can now see a silvery, fiberglass-like building material that is covered with graffiti -- actually "scratchitti" -- from 1976.

On July 4, 1976, bicentennial day, as thousands of people crowded to watch the tall ships in the harbor, some of them, most likely teenagers, were carving hearts, names, zodiac signs, phone numbers, and messages.



"Grace + David," "Sophia 'N Harvey," "Happy Birthday America," "July 4, 1976," "I Love My Mother," "Diane '76," "Gerald Ford, Op Sail and Queen Liz Were Here."

It had all been covered up for 37 years, and once again, it is seeing the light of day, for a limited time.

Tweet

Subscribe to receive free email updates: