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A large mural that was created by some of graffiti’s earliest pioneers was discovered recently in a 10-story limestone building just as developers were converting it into luxury condominiums.

The artwork contains a variety of images and writing executed in spray paint, grease pencil, magic marker and whatever else was at hand - in silver, gold, pink and red. There are cartoonlike pictures of a bomber airplane, images of a heart and a cake, and several references to Quaaludes, a popular 1970s party drug.

…Fab 5 Freddy and Futura 2000 - who helped pioneer graffiti as an art form by spray-painting entire subway trains in psychedelic colours - figure prominently on the wall. There’s also writing believed to belong to Jean Michel Basquiat. The stylistic words "Dead or Alive" strongly suggest that it is the late artist’s work. His tag, "SAMO," appears in the stairwell of the building.