Pride Corner was unveiled in Des Moines’ East Village on Tuesday. All four corners of the intersection of East Grand Avenue and East Fifth Street are painted with curving images of the Progress Pride flag to celebrate the history and the presence of the city’s LGBTQ community.
“We hope people will enjoy the beautiful art and be reminded of how our rainbow diversity makes our community stronger and richer,” said Wes Mullins, executive director of Capital City Pride.
“Capital City Pride believes that visibility is education, and Pride Corner is an opportunity to learn about the historic roots of the LGBTQ+ community in the East Village, the deep meaning of the Pride Flag, and more,” Mullins said.
Pride Corner is “strategically located between three of Des Moines’ beloved gay bars — The Blazing Saddle, Buddy’s Corral, and The Garden — and adjacent to the popular Raygun store, making it a central hub for both the community and visitors,” Capital City Pride explained its statement announcing the unveiling.
Cities around the country have embraced painted displays of LGBTQ pride on their streets since West Hollywood approved Los Angeles artist Martin Duvander’s 2012 art project that repainted crosswalks with the colors of the Pride flag.
“These permanent rainbow crosswalks are living pieces of art that serve as beacons to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people all over the world, and are bold vibrant symbols of hope and pride which were the spark for this show,” the artist said at the time.
Whether Pride Corner becomes a permanent part of the East Village remains to be seen. Capital City Pride said it plans to review the project after 15 months to decide the future of the artwork.
As other cities followed the example of West Hollywood and introduced rainbow crosswalks, there was occasionally pushback, almost always from the expected anti-LGBTQ sources. But in 2019, when Ames unveiled its four rainbow crosswalks at the corner of Fifth Street and Douglas Avenue, painted with the color of the Progress Pride flag, the pushback came from an unexpected source — the Federal Highway Administration (FHA).
Before the official unveiling of the newly painted crosswalks, the agency sent the city a letter asking it to return the crosswalks to the standard white striping.
“Crosswalk art diminishes the contrast between the white lines and the pavement, potentially decreasing the effectiveness of the crosswalk markings and the safety of pedestrian traffic,” the letter claimed.
The letter from the FHA said the agency was concerned that Ames could inspire other cities “to install similar crosswalk treatments.”
The Ames City Council momentarily halted the project to consider the letter, but decided to reject the FHA’s request. The city went ahead with the unveiling ceremony, and crosswalks at Fifth and Douglas are still painted with Pride colors.
There was no pushback against the art at Tuesday’s unveiling ceremony in East Village.
“You are always welcome here in Des Moines,” Des Moines City Councilmember Josh Mandelbaum told the people gathered at Pride Corner. “Our community is always stronger when we embrace the full richness in our community when everyone in our community can be their authentic selves and live an authentic life, and that is what this art is about.”