Photos: St. Louis kids turned this abandoned building into art at riverfront graffiti fest

Each September, hundreds of professional artists participate in Paint Louis. The annual music and graffiti festival brings people to the riverfront to pick and paint a two-mile section of the downtown St. Louis floodwall — also known as the St. Louis Graffiti Wall and Mural Mile.

Part of the Paint Louis festival is “Paint Littles,” an area expressly for kids where they get to spray their masterpieces on the walls of an abandoned weigh station building.

See pictures from St. Louis Public Radio photojournalist Tristen Rouse and audio engineer Aaron Doerr:

People spray painting — From left: Artist Cababi Bayoc, Justin Dunlap and daughters Emilie, 8 and M.J.,13, and Charlie Thompson, 7, participate in Paint Louis — an annual celebration that brings together people practicing four elements of Hip Hop including Graffiti, Breakdancing, Rapping and D.J.

Starlit Love, 5, grafitties the top of a concrete block during “Paint Littles” on Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023 at Paint St. Louis 2023 in downtown St. Louis. “This is her first time doing this,” Love’s mother Jessica Schaible said. “This is awesome. She loves art.”

A close up of a set of hands spraying blue paint onto a blue and yellow-painted wall. — Liam Wertheimer, 8, sprays a coat of blue paint onto a wall during “Paint Littles” on Sept. 3 at Paint Louis 2023 in downtown St. Louis.

A diptych of two vertical images. The left image is of a teen girl, who is White, wearing a yellow wide brimmed hat and yellow face mask, looks at a can of blue paint with a clogged opening. The right image is of a young boy, who is White, has blonde hair and is wearing a yellow face mask, as he is held by a man in a gray t-shirt. In the background is a completely graffitied over wall. — LEFT: Maya Gregg, 10, examines a can of spray paint during “Paint Littles” on Sept. 3 at Paint Louis 2023 in downtown St. Louis. RIGHT: Jace Wertheimer, 4, gets help from his dad Mike Wertheimer as he graffities a wall.

A young boy, who is White and wearing a yellow face mask and panda hat, walks past a teen girl with her back to the camera. Behind them both is a completely graffitied over wall. — Max Gregg, 6, walks past his sister Maya Gregg, 10, while the pair graffiti a wall during “Paint Littles” on Sept. 3 at Paint Louis 2023 in downtown St. Louis.

Cardboard boxes of spray paint bottles and bottles of water. — Cans of spray paint and bottles of water sit in the sun on Sept. 3 at Paint Louis 2023 in downtown St. Louis.

Two young boys, who are both blonde and wearing face masks, spray paint at a wall while standing next to a woman, whose head is cropped out of the frame. — From left: Fred Vernon, 6, Harry Vernon, 4, and their mom Erin Vernon graffiti a wall during “Paint Littles” on Sept. 3 at Paint Louis 2023 in downtown St. Louis.

A woman, who is White, with dyed pink hair and who is wearing a bright yellow t-shirt, kneels down by a stretch of concrete and with a can of pink spray paint. Behind her, you can see a pair of gray SUVs. — Hailey Shae grafitties the ground during “Paint Littles” on Sept. 3 at Paint Louis 2023 in downtown St. Louis. Shae has been down to the area to paint before, and decided to bring her son Cooper Koch, 7, to the event for his first time this year.

A young girl examines a can of spray paint. Her face is painted to look like a rainbow-colored tiger. — Charlotte Rivera, 7, examines a can of spray paint during “Paint Littles” on Sept. 3 at Paint Louis 2023 in downtown St. Louis. The event also had a station where, as kids took a break in the shade, they could get their faces painted.

A group of spray paint cans sits in a row on a ledge, which is completely covered in spray paint. An arm, which belongs to a young Black boy, is reaching up to grab one of them. — Miguel Griffin, 5, reaches up to grab a can of paint during “Paint Littles” on Sept. 3 at Paint Louis 2023 in downtown St. Louis.

A young girl wearing a plaid red dress and whose hair is in braids, reaches of a can of spray paint being held by a man in a white t-shirt, shorts with multicolored circles on them and a bucket hat. Behind them, people walk in front of a graffiti-covered wall. — Jimmie Hanks, 4, reaches to grab a can of spray paint from her dad Jerome Hanks during “Paint Littles” on Sept. 3 at Paint Louis 2023 in downtown St. Louis.

A diptych of two vertical images. The left image is a close up of a young Black girl's hand spraying green paint at a wall, with the paint collecting and dripping from the intensity of the spray. The picture's focus is on the wall, rather than the hand. The right image is of a young White girl wearing a red ball cap, sitting atop the shoulders of a White man in a black t-shirt. The pair are standing in front of a graffiti-covered wall. — LEFT: Amina Peace-Moskoff, 5, graffitis a wall during “Paint Littles” on Sept. 3 at Paint Louis 2023 in downtown St. Louis. RIGHT: Starlit Love, 5, sits on her dad Sean Steber’s shoulders so she can better reach a spot to graffiti during “Paint Littles” on Sept. 3, at Paint Louis 2023 in downtown St. Louis.

A young Black boy, wearing a yellow mask around his chin and a Sonic the Hedgehog t-shirt, runs past a graffiti-covered brick wall. — Miguel Griffin, 5, runs past a paint-covered wall during “Paint Littles” on Sept. 3 at Paint Louis 2023 in downtown St. Louis.

“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Ulaa Kuziez is our production intern. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr. Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.