It was August 14, 2019 when the Boner 4Ever building in Philadelphia last graced the national stage. Police officers were in the Nicetown neighborhood of North Philly to serve a narcotics warrant when the suspect opened fire. The officers leapt behind some parked cars to take cover. Six officers were wounded in the shootout. By 4:30 p.m. that same afternoon, the scene had descended into a form of controlled chaos as police swarmed the building. Not surprisingly, all of this attracted the attention of news cameras, which led to an iconic image of the infamous Boner 4Ever graffiti on CNN:
The building’s actual name, of course, isn’t Boner 4Ever; it’s the Beury Building. The 14-story high-rise, designed by architect William Harold Lee, was constructed over seven years between 1926 and 1933. It was originally the location of the National Bank of North Philadelphia and later renamed for the bank’s first president, Charles Beury. He was also a president of nearby Temple University. In 1985, the Beury Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. That was also around the same time that it was abandoned and left to sit vacant for the next four decades.
It was in that 40 years that the building underwent an urban renovation and became a canvas for graffiti. Most notably, two enormous tags defined it — one side reading “Boner 4Ever,” the other proclaiming “Forever Boner.” In time, they became a familiar sight, a neighborhood landmark and a point of civic pride. (Only in Philly.)
But now, it seems like it’s time to say goodbye to Boner 4Ever. The Beury Building is going to be renovated and turned into a Marriott, which has infuriated locals and former residents.
To their credit, the new owners, Shift Capital, seem to understand the level of sentiment they’re up against. After the initial outcry from residents, they’ve backtracked somewhat and spoken to the community’s desire to keep the two Boners visible. Mihir Wankawala, the CEO of the Wankawala Organization, a partner of Shift Capital, told the Philadelphia Inquirer, “We want to preserve the historic elements of this building, the ‘Boner 4Ever’ sign for sure. We definitely want to incorporate those elements of the building, but we haven’t settled on how we are going to do it yet.”
Floss Barber, the CEO of the interior decorator in charge of the redesign of the building’s interior, offered the same assurances, saying to the Inquirer, “We have had ‘Boner 4ever’ on every presentation we make. I’m not kidding. It’s so important to the building. We’re incorporating it into the overall project in various ways.”
This news was obviously well-received by Philadelphians, even if nothing is definitive (or truly promised) yet:
In terms of how those dueling boners popped up in the first place, legend has it they’re the work of two different artists — 4Ever and Boner, who some say is actually named “B-oner” or “B oner.” But according to reporting by Philadelphia journalist Layla A. Jones, that’s not exactly true. “It’s amazing how these stories just form out of nowhere,” Culture Livingston, a former graffiti artist, told Jones. “They’re all incorrect.”
Another story that’s apparently incorrect is that the combined work of Boner and 4Ever was a sign to all the other taggers in the city that the two rival graffiti artists had squashed their beef. Per Livingston, however, “The two just met, and they just went out writing. It’s as simple as that.” In fact, Livingston claims that Boner isn’t even a native son of Philadelphia, but instead a New Yorker, one that Philly and its graffiti artists have come to embrace. As Livingston explained to Jones, “A few years back, Boner was tearing shit up. He really made a name for himself, especially as a New York transplant — to be able to come to Philly and cover area in a way we respect — it was a significant thing.”
The two artists certainly have unique and identifiable styles. Boner is known for his use of a little bubble ghost character that looks like an animated letter B:
Meanwhile, 4Ever tends to favor an imaginative wildstyle and often does throw ups and pieces with bold shapes that he uses to strong effect:
Now, for those of you who may not trust urban developers to tell the truth about their planned renovation or to keep their promises to preserve Boner 4Ever in the skyline of Philly, you can take consolation in the fact that there are still plenty of other Boner and 4Ever tags gracing the city’s brick edifices, subway cars and billboards. Marriott or no Marriott, neither are going soft any time soon.
Forever Boner, indeed.
Zaron Burnett III
Zaron Burnett is an investigative journalist and longform features writer based in Los Angeles. He covers culture, politics, race, and other perplexing mysteries for MEL.
