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Yeah, this happened. Sure, it was an ill-fated adventure, but in the weeks after 9/11, the neighborhood decided to organize a community-based initiative to put murals inside the tunnel. The horror, right? A car full of punk rocker girls threw a bag of chicken at me.
Ultimately, lessons were learned and it paved the way for more legitimate graff writers to come in and do actual pieces. Krog Tunnel before the turn of the millennium was a fairly stark affair with mostly black and white tags (some clever), random murals, and a decidedly rushed feel. Zone 6 would still write a ticket if they caught you in there.
Following this installation, after some self-reflection and new understanding, Cabbagetown fought hard to make Krog into a legit free wall, distributed permission letters to keep kids out of trouble with the cops, and ultimately convinced (unofficially, of course) APD to cease vandalism enforcement inside the tunnel.
These efforts would eventually morph into a movement to attempt murals on the CSX Wall. The tree ninja had proved a reckless emboldening of vigilante buffers, and afeared of flying chicken, I voted against trying to battle the graffiti. Some of the tags and unsanctioned art was really cool, like an early “Catlanta loves you”, the ubiquitous “Toesucker”, some pudgy lizards, birdman stencils, and the dark angel. In the end, it was a group of methed-out skaters on Gaskill tagging cars, mailboxes, and historically black churches who soured public sentiment, and led to a turning of the page.
For more on this story, visit our page about 2008, the “Green Wall” era.