Almost a year after Montrose’s iconic rainbow crosswalk was removed at Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s orders, the neighborhood is going to get a little more colorful.
On Thursday night, Pride Houston 365, the nonprofit that puts on Houston’s annual Pride parade, announced the return of the Montrose Banner District. The special designation from the City of Houston will allow rainbow banners hung along Westheimer Road through Montrose.
Since last October, when construction crews removed, repainted and then re-removed Montrose’s rainbow crosswalk, activists have worked to bring another symbol of LGBTQ+ pride back to Houston’s historic gayborhood. In May, then Houston City Councilmember Abbie Kamin posted a video with Pride Houston President Kerry-Ann Morrison and longtime Houston gay activist Jack Valinski announcing an effort to revive the banner district. The district was originally established in the early 2000s, and rainbow banners were hung along Westheimer through Montrose to mark the historic route of Houston’s LGBTQ+ Pride parade…