Foster The People Mural Will Be Painted Over Despite Mayor's Intervention

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A mural that spans 125 by 150 feet across the side of a historic building in Downtown L.A. will be painted over despite efforts by Mayor Eric Garcetti to intervene.

The painting, awash in teal and green and featuring a cartoon-like woman slumped over and surrounded by cameras, was funded by pop band Foster the People in celebration of their sophomore album, "Supermodel."

The colossal mural stretches over a side of the Santa Fe Lofts building at 539 South Los Angeles St.

When word first got out that the building's owner was planning to paint over the design, the band called for fans to sign a petition that would keep the mural up.

Nearly 12,000 people endorsed the petition on Change.org, and even the mayor voiced his support.

But a joint statement from the mayor's office, Foster the People and the building's landlord Capital Foresight announced this week that the mural will be removed.

The mural was painted on the side of a historic building that receives tax credits for maintaining original design features under the Mills Act, so it must be taken down in order to restore the property to its "original state," the statement said.

The mural also never received a permit from the city's Department of Cultural Affairs, which heads the city's mural permit program.

The City Council last year lifted a ban on murals painted onto privately owned commercial and multifamily residential buildings and instituted a process for issuing permits to mural projects.

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