The huge yellow letters that spell out “Black Lives Matter” in D.C.’s Black Lives Matter Plaza were paved over but will be replaced by the end of the week, the mayor’s office said.
The famous curb-to-curb letters were missing from 16th Street NW between H and K streets on Tuesday. Underground utility work was underway. That work will be completed within days and the lettering will be repainted, Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office said.
Black Lives Matter Plaza will become a permanent art installation, Bowser said last week about the future of the now-iconic street in front of the White House.
The painting of the letters made international headlines at the height of Black Lives Matter demonstrations last summer; Bowser had the words painted in bright letters for the world to see.
"We had just an unprecedented experience with the president of the United States taking over on D.C. streets," she said.
Speaking to The Washington Post, Bowser said she has new plans to make Black Lives Matter Plaza permanent and more of a destination.
"We're undergoing a process to make the installation more permanent, and with lighting and landscaping and all the things that you expect an iconic art installation … to install this piece of art with a very affirming message that not only our residents needed to hear, but people around the world needed to hear. And they really appreciated that Donald Trump couldn’t avoid it," Bowser said.
