Glassell Park's Glassellland Sign is a crucial piece of the neighborhood's identity, a tribute to the sign culture of its hometown, and a bold statement about how sometimes a triple "L" is totally called for. But the Los Angeles city government just doesn't get it; the Department of Building and Safety has ordered that the sign come down only partway through its triumphant return. Glassellland, by artist Justin Stadel, first went up in early 2013 by the 2, then disappeared and reappeared off Kinney Street, then disappeared once more last fall. In the intervening months, Stadel raised $3,700 and the Kinney Street landowner agreed to host the sign, according to Eastsider LA. The larger new version started going up this past weekend, but only those three glorious Ls and a few other letters made it up before a building inspector stopped by to ruin all the fun.
Apparently, the city doesn't allow signs in residential areas that are bigger than 12 square feet and also they're terrified of teens doing teen things: "There are also concerns about kids that may possibly loiter around the sign and cause a disturbance," Stadel says. He's working with a structural engineer and hoping to get a variance so the sign can finally rise above Glassell Park once more.
· Glassellland sign in trouble, again [Eastsider LA]
· Watch the Fake History of the Soon-to-Return Glassellland Sign [Curbed LA]
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