Artist Judy Baca Restoring 1984 Mural 'Hitting The Wall' In DTLA

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Workers Friday were restoring a vibrant piece of Los Angeles history — the iconic mural titled "Hitting The Wall."

Artist Judy Baca painted the mural, located on the 110 Freeway near 4th Street, in 1984 to commemorate the first time women were allowed to participate in the marathon race at the Olympics.

A Metro Los Angeles contractor removing graffiti painted over it in 2019.

"And the overpainting actually created damage to the piece," Baca said. "And today we're removing all of the overpaint, and what's remarkable is we're finding the mural underneath in one piece."

Baca's team was working to carefully restore the mural. She said L.A. has lost about 60% of its murals due to lack of maintenance and neglect.