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Viper Room, 1994: The River Phoenix Wall
Most of us point, shoot and load our photos into Flickr. And then there are some who scan in old photos such as Alan Light.
Above is a photo taken outside the Viper Room in 1994, the year after River Phoenix's early morning Halloween death. Fans graffitied the wall between the club and what is now a cigar shop. Today, that wall is painted beige.
Almost 10 years later to the day, singer/songwriter Elliot Smith killed himself. In tribute, fans wrote (and still write) messages on the Solutions electronics wall in Silver Lake where Smith posed for an album cover. While not painted over, it does occasionally get hit with tags, unfortunately, sometimes with quite large ones.
Photo by Alan Light via Flickr
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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