final tag?
Iconic downtown Houston bridge graffiti may be gone forever after recent vandalism
Arguably Houston’s most iconic spray-painted landmark, the Be Someone sign over the railroad bridge over I-10 and I-45 north of downtown has greeted and inspired drivers for years. Now, the landmark may be no more.
The beloved sign has been vandalized and painted over, and this time, the creators issued an ominous message that could easily be construed as a farewell on Instagram.
Took this beautiful shot right before it got painted over.
I’d like to thank ya’ll for showing so much love and living up to the Besomeone movement. Keep going, keep representing and go make a difference in your daily life. Go out there and do it for your own sanity, your own Joy and spread the love!
Even if we don’t paint the bridge anymore we will still continue to put in work! 10 years of the Besomeone Bridge has been amazing.
Thank you to the friends and family that have believed in us every step of the way. We’ll see where the road leads us and I hope y’all continue to ride with us.
As CultureMap previously reported, the graffiti evolved in 2020. Initially, the sign was painted over when the coronavirus pandemic first began in March 2020 to read, “Wash Ur Hands.” Later, it briefly returned to its original state before it was changed again to “George Floyd” in June 2020 after the former Houstonian was murdered by police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis during an arrest.
After that, the sign was changed to read #SaveOurChildren in August 2020. The phrase began as a noble awareness campaign to combat human trafficking, but was thrust into controversy by conspiracy theorists who allege that children are being abducted in large numbers to supply a child trafficking ring.
Finally, ahead of the 2020 Presidential Election, the sign was painted over with the phrase “Vote or Die.”
In 2016, the individual behind the graffiti anonymously remarked to CultureMap news partner ABC13 the work means different things to different people. “I get it. It’s vandalism,” he said, “but it's in a different sense, too, if you just take those words and apply it to yourself, it might mean something to you.”
Time will tell if yet another Houstonian will be compelled to splash the same message on the bridge.
