There is an enormous, bright pink wall in the Los Angeles neighborhood of West Hollywood that just about every passerby has taken a photo in front of. The wall—which encloses Paul Smith’s LA store—is the #4 location on “L.A. Weekly’s 10 Spots that have been ‘Instagrammed to death,’” and has become something of a tourist attraction in the city. Not the store or the wares inside it, but the wall. The big fucking pink wall.
In a piece published Friday by Atlas Obscura, Dan Nosowitz provides a simple explanation for the wall’s popularity. “Everyone looks freaking great standing in front of it,” he writes. And he’s right.
But LA isn’t the only city with a photogenic wall that people love to pose in front of and caption with dozens of hashtags. In my former home of Austin, TX, the wall (painted by Daniel Johnston) is west of the University of Texas campus. You’ve probably seen it because, well, everyone who’s passed it has stopped for a photo.
Jezebel’s Floridian member Stassa Edwards says this is Miami’s:
But what about your hometown? Does it have a big fucking pink wall? Or a big fucking alien? Or a shitload of stripes? If so, tell us. It’s Friday, and we want to escape.
Images via Instagram.
DISCUSSION
I don’t think Jeremiah (yes, the alien frog has a name!) is the most popular one in Austin. I think it’s the Jo’s “I love you so much” wall.
That or the “Greetings From Austin” postcard mural.