Sep 24, 2026 - News

Ninth Avenue reopens after painted decorations are covered

Melissa Santos

Split image of a city street: left panel features a road painted with large blue, yellow, and red circles, with trees and a red truck; right panel shows trucks, cars, and balloons, with black paint over where the circles once were. — Before and after. Photos: Melissa Santos/Axios

A block of Ninth Avenue in downtown Seattle has reopened after crews painted over colorful decorations that wouldn't come off — a snafu that kept the street closed to traffic for weeks.

The left photo shows what what Ninth Avenue looked like between Pike and Pine streets last Friday.

At right is how it looks now, after the colorful circles and white lines were painted over this week.

Catch up quick: The painted decorations were left over from an August street market. The Convention Center, which ran that event, struggled to remove the paint afterward.

Seattle city officials say they'll likely have to grind off the artwork, then repair and restripe the street. But this is their solution for now.

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Ninth Avenue reopens after painted decorations are covered

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