This is going to be a different one than usual. The Graffiti Highway is no more. As of writing this, the private owner of the road has started the process of covering up the road with dirt to prevent people from visiting the site. You can no longer visit this place, but I wanted to cover it because of what it meant to a lot of people.
Centralia, Pennsylvania was once a bustling coal town with upwards of 2,500 people. Now only 7 people call this place home. You see, back in the 60s a massive fire started in the coal mines and it still burns to this day. This fire has created sinkholes and giant cracks in the ground and roads. Perhaps the most famous of those roads is the Graffiti Highway, an abandoned stretch of Pennsylvania Route 61 that has become a canvas for artists of all sorts.
I had the pleasure of visiting the Graffiti Highway back in December of 2019. I was on a road trip with my good friend Ukiah and it was actually his idea to go through here. We got lucky showing up in mid-December as there was no snow and warm weather. The Highway was really spectacular. There were paintings ranging from simple names and dates to complex thoughts and high-detail sprays. Everything that could possibly be tagged, was. Not a single spot on the road was the original asphalt anymore. It was coated in several layers of paint.
Nowadays the town is only about 10 buildings and a cemetery, it also has a lot of new forest growth and dirt roads and trails for off-roading. You’ll still be able to explore those trails and see the trees and rocks that have been painted but you won’t be able to see any of the highway. Centralia is still a cool place to see what once was and is an important part of Pennsylvania history.
If you want to see a really good in-depth break down of the town as well as some shots from the road, check out this video by Bright Sun Films, Abandoned-Centralia.