Spirit of 1976

Graffiti covered for 37 years surfaces during building repair

In Lower Manhattan, at the corner of Broad Street and South Street, is a wall about six feet high that faces out to New York Harbor. It's part of an office complex at 125 Broad Street. The wall is being repaired, and as the white facing material is being removed, underneath is revealed a silvery, fiberglass-like building material that is covered with carvings made in 1976.

On July 4, 1976, Bicentennial Day, as thousands of people crowded to watch the tall ships in the harbor, some of them, likely teenagers, took to scratching hearts, names, zodiac signs, phone numbers and messages.

The carvings include "Grace + David," "Sophia 'N Harvey," "Happy Birthday America," "I Love My Mother," "Diane '76," "Gerald Ford, Op Sail and Queen Liz Were Here."

It's unclear how long the carvings were covered up. But now, probably for the first time since 1976, they're seeing the light of day. The graffiti was first first featured in the blog "Jeremiah's Vanishing New York."

Photographs by Amy L. Anderson. Reprinted with permission from Jeremiah Moss.