Old state Capitol in Olympia marred by graffiti

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The old state Capitol has been tagged with graffiti that officials believe could cost $10,000 to remove.

Over the weekend 32 symbols were spray painted onto the 115-year-old sandstone building, apparently with red automotive primer.

The building is occupied by the Office of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

"This is the worst graffiti whatsoever we've ever had on the Capitol campus," said Lawrence M. Kessel of the Department of General Administration. "Up till now they've shown some respect to our buildings."

Unlike some of the elaborate spray-painted graffiti on nearby buildings, the vandalism to the historic building consisted mostly of alternating peace and anarchy signs, plus a pair of male symbols above "OK" on the east side.

The marks left from removing the graffiti will likely linger for years, Kessel said.



"It's sandstone, so it will change. Once you paint the surface of sandstone with solvent or spray paint or whatever, you can't make it look the way it was again," he said.

Investigators have no leads to who may have done the damage, State Patrol Sgt. John-Paul G. Sager said.

"We're asking the public to call in with any information they may have," Sager said.