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NEWS
Graffiti mars Keith-Albee's facade
Someone has vandalized the outside of the historic Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center at 925 4th Ave., in downtown Huntington, shown here on Monday, Nov. 16, 2009.
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HUNTINGTON -- The Keith-Albee Foundation doesn't know where it's going to find the money to cover up the bright blue graffiti that now adorns the historic facade of the Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center on 4th Avenue in Huntington.
The graffiti, colored in blue and outlined in black, says "Drop Beats" and is located more than 20 feet above the ground and next to the blinking lights and sign on the front of the theater. David Tyson, co-president of the Keith-Albee Foundation, said the graffiti must have been done sometime Thursday night or Friday morning.
Tyson said the vandalized area on top of the theater is only accessible by the rooftops of surrounding buildings.
Junior Ross, who oversees the building, is working with graffiti removal specialists to determine the cost of repairs. Tyson said he's not sure if the damage is going to costs hundreds or thousands of dollars.
It's not as simple as painting over the graffiti, Tyson said. With the theater's front more than 80 years old, Tyson said they're considering using special chemicals that remove the paint and save the integrity of the original building.
Tyson said the money raised by the foundation is spoken for and is going for specific improvements. Tyson said he's not sure where the foundation will raise the money to fund the graffiti removal.
"We don't have the money to combat destruction," Tyson said. "We'll have to spend money that we don't have."
Tyson added, "(The graffiti problem) is just out of control when they attack a building of this historic nature."
Tyson said the theater's rear typically gets spraypainted, but this was the first time someone has been brazen enough to climb up on the roof and graffiti the front. If people want to showcase their graffiti skills, Tyson said they should stick to legal surfaces.
"If they want to paint something, they should find a wall in their own backyard and not something that's private property," Tyson said. "This is not an act of art; it's an act of destruction."
The graffiti on the Keith-Albee is the most recent in a string of spray painted names, known as "tags," and messages on downtown Huntington business fronts. Red spray paint lined the side wall of the Cinema 4 building and Glenn's Sporting Goods, and black paint covered the metallic surface of the Robert C. Byrd Institute in mid-September.
Huntington Police Chief Skip Holbrook said police have stepped up patrols and have asked business owners to join the fight. Holbrook said the results have been very positive so far.
In late-September, two men in their 20s were jailed and charged with misdemeanor destruction of property and obstruction. Holbrook said the arrests demonstrated to vandals that the police are actively looking for them. Aside from patrolling graffiti hot spots, Holbrook said police are also identifying and eliminating vulnerable areas of the city, such as rooftops.
Following the vandalism at the Keith-Albee, Holbrook said police will shut down any routes to the rooftop.
Despite the graffiti on the theater, Tyson said he believes the police are doing a great job at cracking down on vandals on the street. Tyson said he hoped more business owners stepped up their efforts to aid police in the fight against vandals.
"The police have been patrolling the streets but it looks like they'll have to patrol the rooftops too," Tyson said. "Police are doing an excellent job but they can't be everywhere 24/7."
Holbrook said business owners have begun working with police to curb graffiti by painting over tags and installing surveillance systems to help identify vandals.
