More than 100 people gathered on Fourth and Colorado streets in Austin to celebrate the unveiling of a new LGBTQ+ historical marker on Friday morning.
Garry Brown, an Austin LGBTQ+ Quality of Life Advisory Commission member, said the idea came to him toward the end of his time on the Historic Landmark Commission, which, in part, reviews areas that may be designated for landmark status.
"For me, it was overwhelming because this is my baby. From dream to the erection of the marker today in this dedication ceremony. It's been three years," he said. "The wheels of government moved too slowly, but it happened."
The marker is a small brick structure with the LGBTQ+ flag colors and a bronze plaque, titled, "As Queer As You Want To Be."
The unveiling ceremony comes a day before Austin's annual Pride parade, which runs from the Texas Capitol to the Congress Avenue Bridge, according to Visit Austin. The event also coincides with the removal of the Pride-themed crosswalks on Fourth and Colorado streets last month, following a directive from the state.
Brown said the idea for a marker predated the crosswalk removal. He is now working to have Fourth Street closed off to traffic between Colorado and Lavaca streets, creating a pedestrian plaza.
Steven Rivas, the LGBTQ+ Quality of Life Commission member for District 3, said closing it off would also make the area safer.
"So we'll create an LGBTQ Bettie Naylor Memorial Park," Rivas said in an interview with KUT News last month. "A place where people can get married, a place where people can celebrate their lives or have art festivals, and it'll also create a safer environment so that we reduce the risk of an incident, like we had at Buford's where there was a mass shooting."
Naylor was a Texas women's rights and gay rights activist who died in 2012.
Many attendees at the event had handheld fans or umbrellas to block out the sun under close to 90-degree weather.
Drag performer Sister Serena Severe said the event is "quite a celebration."
She said, "There's a lot of happy people, well dressed, schvitzy, but happy to be here before the real heat of the day."
Severe said their favorite part of the event was seeing people from the LGBTQ+ community.
"The LGBTQ community in Austin, we don't really have a place to come together, like an LGBTQ center," they said. "What I really enjoy is having this opportunity to meet in a physical place and do what I call shaking hands and kissing babies."
The Austin Pride parade on Saturday will feature comedians, artists, dancers and live music. The festival begins at 11 a.m. and is free to attend, according to the Austin Pride website.
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