Though the recent curation of street art covering the Candle Building’s façade is mighty impressive, the uniformity and precision felt a little like wallpaper. That’s why we were a little psyched to see some of Rambo’s musings among a few other random illegal additions. Earlier, one commenter requested:

“please, somebody do some fillins over all the wheatpaste as part of this final ‘art project.’ “

It looks like an answer to this request is in the works.

Click for panorama taken on Saturday, November 20, 2006.

Graffiti Archaeology, which usually covers San Francisco, has put together a timelapse montage of graffiti and street art at 11 Spring Street, the Candle Building. They’re only covering the South wall for now, but you can expect another collage of the West wall on Elizabeth Street in due time.

11 Spring Street, on the corner of Elizabeth and Spring Street was bought from Lachlan Murdoch, son of Rupert, back in July to turn into condos. Fortunately, the new owners asked Marc and Sarah at Wooster Collective to curate the final beautification, inside and outside, before renovation begins. So far, Michael DeFeo, the London Police, WK Interact, Elbowtoe, Above, Faile and Bast, have contributed to Wooster’s project. On December 16th, a huge party will take place to celebrate the new art and pour out a little OE for this dear, departing friend.

Jake at Gothamist took some photos and panoramas during a sneak peak inside the building. We’re curious to see whether nostalgic graffiti and street artists will continue painting the building after it’s turned into condos.

Screengrab of Graffiti Archaeology’s timelapse montage of 11 Spring Street’s southern wall. You can virtually peel back the layers!

The days are numbered for the Candle Building at Eleven Spring Street, the giant street art oasis on the corner of Spring and Elizabeth Streets in NoLIta. In just a month, construction begins converting the building into three condo units. The building has been a magnet for street artists over the years, and rightfully so. Boarded up and with no apparent use, the layers of paint, posters (and occasional Skewville sculpture) have been allowed to steadily collect. The only signs of life have been candles in upper windows, the building’s namesake, and a few lazy attempts to buff the walls.

Photo by xymox

Steven Kurutz of the New York Times focuses on the mystery of the building and quells our curiosity a bit.

Over the years, the building has become the New York equivalent of the spooky suburban home with the chipped paint and weedy lawn. The curtains and lighted candles that for years adorned the upper-story windows only added to the haunted-house aura. Some wonder if the interior is full of bizarre mechanical gadgets, an architectural version of the game Mousetrap. Others say there are no stairs, only ramps. “I heard it was an icehouse, where the mob kept bodies,” Mr. Steele said.

The new owners say they are “sensitive to the street art issue,” whatever that means. Will the wall be buffed clean or turned into the street art equivalent of a sanctioned skate park? We’ll be watching.

The Candle Building will be one stop on the Graffiti Bike Tour this Saturday.