A couple in San Francisco paid far too much for an 82-foot-long dirt alley, only to find out it was just an easement with no building rights. Now, three tech pranksters have bought the land and are turning it into a collaborative digital artwork project.

The trio, including software engineers Patrick Hultquist and Theo Bleier, along with Riley Walz, intend to pave the road and use a website called Paint a Street to invite online artists to submit low-resolution drawings. The best 1,280 submissions will be arranged in a collage and displayed on the ground as a sidewalk decal.

Submissions and voting start today until April 7th, with the top designs chosen for permanent installation. Despite content moderation, there’s concern that explicit images could still slip through, but Hultquist remains optimistic about the project's potential to become an attraction for tourists in San Francisco.

For the original owner, JJ Hollingsworth, this is a positive outcome after initially being skeptical of the offer to purchase the land. She now views it as an opportunity to bring people together and celebrate community art.