Rainbow Crosswalks to Span Boystown Intersection

The West Hollywood City Council has approved painting the crosswalks at the intersection of San Vicente Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard in rainbow colors for the month of June in honor of LGBT Heritage month.

It’s unclear, however, exactly who initiated the idea. Weho resident Lucas John, who runs the Weho Confidential website, says he tagged the Council members about it on his Facebook page on May 15. John says he got the idea from a publicity stunt done in Tel Aviv.

Venice resident Martin Duvander, however, says on his website that he wrote the Council members about it April 19. Duvander says he sees the crosswalk as an “empty canvas” and saw an opportunity to “make a statement.”

The location is considered the heart of the Boystown district and also serves as the entrance to the LA Pride festival that will take place this weekend in West Hollywood Park.

Painting of the crosswalks will begin Thursday at midnight and last until approximately 6 a.m. A second coat of paint will be applied on Friday between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. Individual lanes of the streets will be closed while crews apply the Krylon water-based industrial paint.

Crews will touch-up the paint as needed throughout June. After that, the bricks will be restored to their current red color. The total cost of the job is estimated at $12,920.

Mayor Jeff Prang and Councilmember John Duran sponsored the item, which was passed on the Council’s consent calendar Monday night.

In related news, the downtown Los Angeles City Hall will be bathed in lavender lights in honor of LGBT Heritage month. The lavender lights are scheduled to be turned on tonight (Wednesday) at dark and run through June 22. The cost of adding a lavender-colored filter to each of the 180 spotlights on the Los Angeles City Hall is being covered by Ciroc Vodka.

The pylons at LAX also will glow purple in honor of gay pride. The purple coloring began June 1 and runs through June 8.