Rainbow crosswalks are on the way for the intersection of South Second Street and West National Avenue in Walker’s Point.
The city of Milwaukee’s Paint the Pavement program approved an application for rainbow crosswalks at the site last month. The project, which will be privately funded entirely by donors, sponsors and grants, will be installed in October to honor LGBT History Month.
An earlier set of rainbow crosswalks were repainted on North Jefferson and East Wells streets near Cathedral Square this May. Those were first installed in 2018 and lost during street reconstruction in the area.
The new crosswalks in Walker’s Point are part of a new LGBTQ landmarks program and will be maintained by the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project and local business owners.
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“These crosswalks are a symbol of inclusion,” Bill Wardlow, community advisor to the History Project and owner/operator of Fluid Bar, 819 S. Second St., said in a statement. “They will send a message of safety and belonging to those who live here and those visiting from all over the world. They are a reminder that here in Walker’s Point, you are home.”
The Bring the Rainbows Home Fund is raising money for installation costs and ongoing maintenance. The History Project is partnering with renowned, Wisconsin-born street artist Jeremy Novy, who is known for his stencils of koi fish and efforts in support of gay activism, and Crowley Construction of Milwaukee on the project. The crosswalks will honor changemakers who’ve created safe spaces for the local LGBTQ community for more than eight decades.
Some of the historic LGBT spaces that operated in the area include:
- The Friendly Bar, Walker’s Point’s first known gay bar, opened at 819 S. 2nd St. in December 1944 to welcome returning WWII servicemen.
- Nite Beat, which opened in 1959 at 901 W. National Ave. as the city’s first known lesbian bar.
- Your Place, 813 S. First St., which was opened in summer 1965 by Jim Dorn, Jerry Stinson and Dorn’s parents, was the first gay bar in Milwaukee owned by a gay couple.
Walker’s Point remains home to the city’s seven surviving queer spaces, as well as a thriving collection of diverse businesses.
“Our crosswalks honor the long, colorful history of Walker’s Point, and those pioneers who created and held space for us for so long,” Dave Wolz, owner/operator of La Cage, 801 S. Second St., said in a statement. “We carry forward historic legacies that started long before us, and a strong, visible and vocal neighborhood ensures they will continue long after us. We should all take pride in being seen at this very, very important time.”
