The Venice Pride Rainbow Flag Lifeguard Tower has been saved! The popular art installation earned its permanent residence at Venice Beach. The L.A. County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved to preserve the stripes on the rainbow lifeguard tower–making it the first official LGBT community monument in Los Angeles history.
LGBT activist and actor Colin Campbell petitioned to protect the LGBT inclusive symbol and make it a permanent art installation via change.org. His original goal was to get 10,000 signatures, but the petition generated 10,912 signatures.
“Venice is known to be very liberal, but the LGBT community is sort of all on the westside and the Venice area is sort of left out,” Campbell told WEHO TIMES. “The reason why I started this petition is because I was really encouraged by all the really young people—I’m talking about people in their teens and early 20s, who attended this year’s Venice Pride. I don’t feel we have any real markers or anchors in the LGBT community.”
Venice Pride Rainbow Flag Lifeguard Tower – photos by Paulo MurilloSupervisor Sheila Kuehl introduced the motion to keep the rainbow colors on the lifeguard tower, which was scheduled to go back to its traditional baby blue colors on September 8.
The board voted unanimously in support of Kuehl’s motion which also included making it a memorial to late Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, the first openly gay man elected to the council. Rosendahl, who represented the 11th District, which includes Venice. He retired in 2012 and passed away from cancer in 2016.
Los Angeles LGBT activists are celebrating the very recent victory. Venice Pride organizers held a Save the Venice Pride Flag Lifeguard Tower Victory Party at James’ Beach in Venice this evening.
Funded by Venice Pride, a local non-profit dedicated to saving LGBT lives, and Dunn-Edwards Paints, the Rainbow tower serves as an important visual reminder that Los Angeles will always welcome people no matter whether they are gay, straight, lesbian, bi, transgender, queer or questioning.
To learn more about Venice Pride, visit venicepride.org
