The rainbow pylons dotting the Halsted Street landscape —and are the basis of the Legacy Walk outdoor museum—are officially city landmarks.
The City Council approved a recommendation July 24 that the pylons be given landmark status. The approval was part of a larger set of recommendations forwarded by the Council's Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards. The measure did not elicit any comment beyond brief remarks by Ald. Tom Tunney ( 44th Ward ), who chairs that committee and in whose ward the pylons stand.
Flanked by longtime activists Lori Cannon and Rick Garcia, Tunney said, "The designation will make the Legacy Walk and the rainbow pylons streetscape the only multi-acre site in the world to be declared a landmark because its importance to the LGBTQ people."
Tunney also acknowledged Legacy Project Executive Director Victor Salvo, who was in the Council chambers as well on July 24.
The rainbow pylons were erected in 1998, and plaques dedicated to notable LGBT individuals were first mounted on them in 2012. The final plaques were dedicated once the Legacy Walk reached capacity in 2018.
