Legal, tolerated, fresh, hall of fame: how to read a wall's status

Color does real work on Graffiti Spot. Every wall is tagged with a legal status, always shown as a colour and a label — never colour alone. Here's how to read them.

The four statuses

• Legal — a sanctioned wall. Somewhere you're allowed to paint: a permission wall, a legal spot, a designated zone.
• Tolerated — a grey-area. Not officially legal, but generally left alone. Paint smart, read the room.
• Fresh — up right now. Recent work worth catching before it changes.
• Hall of fame — a respected spot, often long-running. Burners live here; there's an order to it. Learn it before you go over anything.

Alive, buffed, gone

Separate from the legal status is the wall's life status — because walls change:

• Alive — it's still up.
• Buffed — painted over or cleaned off.
• Gone — the wall itself is gone (demolished, sealed, lost).

Tracking this is the whole idea behind the archive: buffed never means lost. The wall history keeps the record even after the paint is gone.

One important caveat

Status on Graffiti Spot is community-reported guidance, not legal advice. A wall marked "legal" can change; a "tolerated" spot can get someone in trouble. Always check local rules before you paint — the map helps you find walls, it doesn't authorise anything.

Ready to read the map for real? Open it here, or find a sanctioned wall at the next jam.