The bridge has been used to dramatic advantage in automobile advertising. But close up, the span's white surfaces are a canvas for graffiti. And there are other signs of neglect, including missing chunks of concrete and cracked lighting fixtures held together with duct tape. Asked about the issue, a local official sounded defensive. But it obviously can't be repainted every day.
People just have to learn to be more civic-minded.
Guest predicted that the graffiti problem would lessen when the city builds a high-speed train station next to the bridge, bringing more pedestrian traffic and natural surveillance. David Kahler, the Milwaukee architect whose Kahler Slater firm has worked with Calatrava on the art museum expansion here, is philosophical about the graffiti problem. High atop a leafy hill dotted with museums, civic offices and facilities left over from the 1992 Olympics, the pristine white structure slants boldly into a cerulean sky, the tower's circular crown pierced by a missile-shaped spire. The space is heavily visited - and heavily patrolled by security, which may help account for the unblemished surface. At each end, a louvered, stainless steel door opens up like the mouth of a whale.