On August 7, a vandal spray painted obscene graffiti over the iconic John Lennon mural at 1020 Garnet Ave. in Pacific Beach. The popular Mural, pThe painting, created in 2006 based on a famous photograph of the musician, was irreparably damaged.
Haseeb Akbarzada, TThe owner of the business where the incident occurred, 365 Reloaded Smoke Shop in Garnet near Cass, decided to paint over the entire wall to revive the mural.
That is exactly what is happening now, as muralist Jon Hamrick (@Just_Jon1), of Pacific Beach, has begun painting a new John Lennon mural.
There was a public outcry following the destruction of the original artwork. “The members of beautifulPB are deeply saddened by the defacement of this beloved mural,” said Ryan Stock, beautifulPB’s new president. “We believe that fostering vibrant, shared spaces – where people of all backgrounds come together and live in peace – is key to preventing such acts. As the great urban planner Jane Jacobs wisely said, ‘eyes on the street’ are vital to the health and safety of our community.”
“This crime was not reported to the San Diego Police Department by a victim,” said police Lt. Daniel Meyer, adding, “We investigated the matter last week.”
“It has been vandalised for two years,” said Haseeb Akbarzada, the owner of the destroyed shop, who previously owned another tobacco shop on the same street. He added: “We have never had such a problem before.”
The Pacific Beach building with the Lennon mural on the side, previously owned by the Five Guys restaurant chain, sat vacant for several years before Akbarzada took over the space in February. “The mural was already tagged before I opened the store,” Akbarzada noted, adding, “I bought expensive paint and painted over the wall and saved the (Lennon mural). But I got tired of doing it because it was costing me time, labor and money.”
After the mural was completely defaced overnight on August 7 at around 2 a.m., Akbarzada looked for “an artist so we could fill the whole wall with different (Lennon) murals so people wouldn’t deface it.”
Regarding the reasons for the mural being damaged, Akbarzada said: “I think some people paid some guys to do it because my (front) windows had been vandalised before – and smashed.”
Akbarzada said the Lennon mural was “really a mess” after the last massive painting and was beyond repair. “I saved it and hired a local artist that I paid $3,000 out of my own pocket (to replace it), just for the neighborhood, just for the community,” Akbarzada said, adding, “I would love to fill the whole wall, but I can’t afford it.”
The tobacco shop owner also has video footage of two unidentified youths who had previously smashed the windows of his shop twice with hammers before running away. “In my first week of opening, all my windows were smashed and covered in paint,” Akbarzada said. “The first time it cost me $8,000 to repair and the second time it cost me $19,000. And they didn’t come to commit a robbery. They just broke in and then ran away.”
He added: “They (the vandals) came prepared with gloves, masks and hammers.”
Akbarzada, a native of Afghanistan, noted that the wall of his building was previously inscribed with “Free Palestine.” He stressed that he is completely apolitical, saying: “I want to live my life, work for my family, that’s all. The world has had problems for thousands of years.”
The store owner believes the writing and vandalism is about business, not politics, adding that he has received text messages claiming “someone paid people to smash my windows.”
Akbarzada believes that the vandals who attacked his shop are “underage children and not organized criminals.” He complained: “They will do anything for money. It’s not like strangers are coming and trying to do something against me, my nationality or my religion.”
“I had to,” Akbarzada said when asked about replacing the Lennon mural. He added that he might also be willing to start a GoFundMe campaign to cover the cost of repainting the Lennon mural on the side of the building.
Is there a message the store owner wants to convey after this tragic incident? “Just let people live,” he said. “These teenagers, this new generation, are different. They don’t care. They have no respect.”
The mural of Lennon with a flower in his eye was a recreation of an iconic portrait of Lennon taken by the late photographer Robert Whitaker in Weybridge, England, around 1965. It was titled “Admiration.” Lennon reportedly had a penchant for the bizarre and surreal in visual art and the presentation of his image. Whitaker, who died in 2011, claimed this was one of his favorite paintings. He stated the inspiration was a meditation on Narcissus and a quote from Euripides that referred to flowers in people’s eyes.
