Photos of 5Pointz's Heartbreaking Demolition

The former graffiti mecca has been torn down to make way for high-rise apartment buildings.

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Complex Original

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Almost exactly a year since the decision was made to raze New York's graffiti mecca, 5Pointz, and the building is almost gone. The former hub for street artists, graffiti writers, and other creatives is being knocked down by its owner, Jerry Wolkoff, who plans to build two high-rise apartment buildings on the Jackson Ave. site.

We took a trip to Queens to capture 5Pointz's last days. You can no longer get close to the building, but instead have to view it through train windows and under construction barriers, making the isolation of the urban creature complete. From a distance, you can make out the whitewashed walls—which were covered in the middle of the night by Wolkoff's crew—and with the foundations stripped bare, you can see the straight letter throw-ups lining the interior staircases of 5Pointz. Instead of graffiti writers, the area is crawling with construction workers in hard-hats. 

This week it was revealed that Wolkoff attempted (and failed) to name his new development 5Pointz, a further blow to the people who gave life to the graffiti mecca in its heyday. Check out the pictures below to see what the building looks like now.

Here are Photos of 5Pointz's Heartbreaking Demolition.

Photos by Liz Barclay.

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