4 More 101 Freeway Murals To Be Replaced With Graffiti-Resistant Replicas

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Replicas of well-known Hollywood (101) Freeway murals that are resistant to graffiti and vandalism will be installed Thursday between Alameda Street and Broadway in downtown Los Angeles.

The four mural replicas will be the latest installation of a pilot project that began in 2010. The replicas, about a third of the size of the original murals, are printed on canvases made of recycled plastic and vinyl fabric designed to be resistant to most paint types, according to Caltrans.

"This project has become a viable and tax-free way to preserve art and combat vandals who have aggressively attacked public art on the freeway system," said Caltrans Deputy District 7 Director of Maintenance Dan Freeman.

Since the installation of the replicas, just one has been the target of any vandalism over the past two years, according to Caltrans officials.

Thursday's installation will be replicas of Jimmy Centeno's "Viaje" and "Un homenaje a la Mujer Latinoamericana" and Rene Trujillo's "Birdsee(d)" and "Bomba." They will join previously installed replicas of works by John Werhle, George Sportelli, Ruben Soto and Frank Romero.

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