Wow, the title really buries the lead here and I see no comments here talking about how this wasn't any ordinary building: it was the 5pointz (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_Pointz)! Not only that, this wasn't illegal graffiti, but rather murals that were originally sanctioned. When the landlord wanted to demolish the site, the artists went to the courts and the court was going to make a decision, but the landlord went ahead and painted over them a day before the decision.