Antisemitic graffiti found in North Bethesda

Antisemitic graffiti was found on posters critical of Israel pasted to a utility cabinet at the intersection of Old Georgetown Road and Grand Park Avenue near Pike & Rose yesterday, December 9, 2023. Swastikas and genocidal messages about Israel, and a numerical code used by Neo-Nazis, were among the things written onto the posters. A reader forwarded these photos of the posters and graffiti, which appeared just two days after a menorah was toppled outside a synagogue in Olney at the start of the Chanukah holiday.

Kenwood gang-tag graffiti covered over (Photos)

Apparently the damage to the Kenwood sign from this week's gang-tag-style graffiti attack was too severe for a simple powerwash, as some had suggested would be sufficient. Instead, the defacing has been covered over with paint. The sign is just a mess right now. No public statement has been released by Montgomery County police yet on the investigation of this incident, and whether or not it was actually gang-related.

Kenwood hit with gang-tag-style graffiti (Photos)

In a virtually-unprecedented incident in the posh Chevy Chase neighborhood of Kenwood, someone has spray-painted gang-tag-style graffiti on the stately community sign on Dorset Avenue near Little Falls Parkway. Also hit were an electrical box and a sign along the Capital Crescent Trail nearby. The initials "KYS" and "FTP" are repeated in the motifs; the other two are unintelligible.

It's a sad commentary on our soft-on-crime Montgomery County Council. Setting standards really starts at the top, and the leadership there has been sorely lacking. As Jack Kemp once said, "Weakness is provocative."

Disgruntled Barnes & Noble fan leaves graffiti message at former Bethesda Row location

A fan of Barnes & Noble has protested the exit of the bookseller from Bethesda Row by leaving a graffiti message of his/her displeasure on the construction walls around their former space. "Community Cornerstone R.I.P.," reads the message in U.S. Army-style stencil font. The statement refers to the bookstore's role as a community gathering space over the last two decades.

Meanwhile, the bookstore space's future tenants, Anthropologie & Co. and Terrain Cafe, have put up fancier messages on other parts of the wall. The signage touts some of what you'll find in the future store. I had to look up what BHLDN Weddings referred to. Famous quotes that used to adorn the exterior of the bookstore have also been removed in recent days.

Prince tribute in downtown Bethesda (Photos)

An artistic tribute to Prince has popped up in the construction tunnel at the Solaire Bethesda apartments construction site on Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda. Again, probably better than some of the public art being installed these days around the County.

Graffiti artist returns to Solaire Bethesda sidewalk tunnel (Photos)

The mysterious artist has returned to the construction tunnel alongside the Solaire Bethesda luxury apartment project. This time, he or she has left renderings of Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn and a mystery man on the wooden wall.

PROVOCATIVE

NANDO'S PERI-PERI

GRAFFITI STREET ART

MAKES A SPLASH AT

BETHESDA ROW

Bethesda Avenue Art Murals Add Color,

International Ambiance to Garage Entrance

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive!!!

What makes great art? There are as many answers as there are people. But one is, art that makes people think or evokes a reaction.

Nando's Peri-Peri has brought its world-famous chicken to Bethesda Row, and now it has added a splash of color to our garage entry with new murals on its side wall. Kudos to Nando's for livening up a dead space.

Designed to evoke spontaneous, rogue street art with touches of artificial graffiti, the pieces also bring an international urban touch to the Row. By which I mean that they don't strongly suggest one particular culture, style, city or country, very appropriate for our very diverse metropolitan area.

There's also a nice contrast with the very formal European design of the Bethesda Lane pedestrian street next door, parallel to this edgy, energetic, contemporary installation at Nando's.

What do you think of the new art at Nando's?