Hermosa Beach’s Pride Lifeguard Tower was unveiled June 26. Photo: Michael Owen Baker.
The Hermosa Beach Pride Lifeguard Tower is now a permanent structure on the beach.
The 13th Street Los Angeles County Lifeguard Tower, which was painted the rainbow colors for LGBTQ Pride Month in June, was initially supposed to be repainted its original blue color at the end of summer.
But Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, whose district includes Hermosa Beach, announced Monday that the lifeguard tower will stay gay year round. It is the third lifeguard tower in the county that is painted the Pride rainbow colors.
“The rainbow tower is beautiful and has become a symbol of this community’s love and support for LGBTQ rights,” Hahn said in a statement. “None of us wanted to see it painted over, and I am proud to announce that the Pride Tower is here to stay.”
The idea to paint the tower originally came from lzzy Bacallao, a local non-binary teen.
Bacallao, who uses the pronouns they and them, had the idea after a rainbow painted Pride Lifeguard Tower in Long Beach burned in March. Hermosa Beach’s Pride Lifeguard Tower was unveiled at the Hermosa Beach Pride event June 26.
The Pride Tower’s rainbow paintjob will be maintained by the county’s Department of Beaches and Harbors, which maintains all their lifeguard towers.
The Department of Beaches and Harbors also maintains another permanent Pride Lifeguard Tower in Venice.
