Local Man Cleans 'Greetings From Tucson' Mural After Vandalism

TUCSON, AZ —A popular Tucson mural was once again serving as a backdrop in people's photographs Wednesday, thanks to the hard work of one local man and his box of cleaning supplies.

The "Greetings From Tucson" mural on a wall outside Miller's Surplus, 406 N 6th Ave., was vandalized early Sunday morning, tagged with the initials of a local street gang.

Security footage from just before 2 a.m. Sunday, which has been posted on the Miller's Surplus Facebook page, appears to show a pickup truck driving up the store, four people getting out of the vehicle and one of them spray-painting the mural.

A spokesman for the Tucson Police Department said he believed the incident had been reported to the city's Graffiti Department, but that he didn't believe a police report had been made.

The story made local headlines, and the community was angry, especially because the mural is a popular backdrop for wedding photos, graduation photos and photos of people in shorts wanting to show their friends in colder climates how much they are enjoying the Arizona weather.

Victor Ving, the California-based artist and co-creator of the mural —which is part of his Greeting Tour series, which includes over 52 murals in over 25 states — agreed to send somebody out to assess the damage and begin to touch up the public art.

George Landa, sales manager at Miller's Surplus, said he was not willing to wait that long.

"Tuesday night, I was upset about it after doing some TV interviews," Landa told Patch. "I was perturbed about it when I got up Wednesday and I said to myself 'self, I'm taking back that mural.'"

So, Landa went to the local hardware store and purchased some Goof Off Pro Strength Remover and some toilet bowl cleaner, and he went to work.

Six hours later, Landa said he had just about removed the graffiti from the mural. A friend who works at a local radio station — and is a little taller and able to reach the highest parts of the graffiti — helped Landa finish the job.

"I just went out and did it on my own," Landa said. "I said 'I'm taking back the mural,' and I cleaned it up pretty good."

By 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, two women were at the site having their photos taken in front of the mural.

Landa said the mural specialist still is scheduled to come out Friday to take a look at the mural — which was created in 2017 — and possibly add paint in a few places.

"But it looks so much better," Landa said. "It's presentable again."