Gainesville city officials and residents celebrated the opening of the newly-renovated City Hall Plaza that will provide more functional community space and accommodate more than 2,000 people.
The renovation incorporates rainbow bricks salvaged from the downtown crosswalks that were removed last year after state official ordered communities to remove rainbow crosswalks.
Rainbow bricks find new home at renovated Gainesville City Hall Plaza https://t.co/KNcuuaOw7h pic.twitter.com/Tksf7ENEVT
— Gay Travel & Tourism (@gaytourism) May 8, 2026
From the Gainesville Sun:
Gainesville officials pulled roughly 1,900 bricks from three downtown crosswalks after the Florida Department of Transportation threatened to cut the city’s transportation funding in August 2025.
In a memo, the department warned that non-standard markings “can lead to distractions or misunderstandings can jeopardize safety.”
Instead of discarding the bricks, the city commission chose to honor the LGBTQ community by incorporating them into the plaza.
Several cities are finding a way to return rainbow representation to their towns.
Miami Beach reinstalled its rainbow bricks in an oceanfront park across from the city’s gay beach last month.
And the city of Boise responded to a ban on Pride flags in Idaho by wrapping its city hall flagpoles with rainbow stripes.
Thoughts? The rainbow bricks, which once formed a crosswalk to Gainesville City Hall, are being repurposed after the state forced the city to remove them from the roadway 👇https://t.co/OKheOlldKm pic.twitter.com/Ssy38KDx4o
— WCJB TV20 News (@WCJB20) May 1, 2026
(top right photo credit: Chelsea Long)
Discover more from The Randy Report
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.