New Pride banners are now hanging above Westheimer Road in Houston’s Montrose neighborhood, creating a new symbol of LGBTQ+ visibility nearly a year after Texas cities were forced to remove rainbow crosswalks under a directive from Gov. Greg Abbott.
The banners stretch across the Lower Westheimer corridor after Houston reinstated the Lower Westheimer Banner District. The display was funded through a $10,000 personal donation from Mayor John Whitmire and unveiled during a ceremony attended by local, state, and federal officials.
The installation comes after Abbott directed the Texas Department of Transportation in 2025 to ensure cities and counties removed roadway markings that conveyed “social, political, or ideological messages.” Cities that failed to comply risked losing state and federal transportation funding and could face the suspension of agreements with TxDOT.
The order led communities across Texas, including Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and El Paso, to remove rainbow-colored crosswalks that had become landmarks in LGBTQ+ neighborhoods.
Houston’s Montrose rainbow crosswalk, first installed in 2017, was among those removed.
Local leaders used the banner unveiling to criticize the state’s action and highlight what they described as the importance of preserving LGBTQ+ visibility in public spaces.
“These symbols matter,” Harris County Commissioner in Pct. 1 Rodney Ellis said during the ceremony. “If they didn’t matter, why would so many people put up Confederate monuments all over America?”
Ellis recalled speaking at the crosswalk’s removal and encouraging supporters to find new ways to display Pride.
“They may take down this rainbow, this crosswalk, but you go put your rainbow on your house. You put it on your car. You put it on your building,” he said.
He also urged voters to remember the controversy when heading to the polls.
“You remember who had the time to worry about a crosswalk with all of the challenges that we have going on in our country,” Ellis said.
State Rep. Ann Johnson, D-Houston, spoke about the personal impact of seeing the rainbow crosswalk as a young LGBTQ+ Texan.
“As a young little girl growing up in this state, I did not think it was OK to be me. I didn’t think it was Ok to be gay,” Johnson said. “When I drove down this street as an adult, and I saw that crosswalk as a rainbow, it meant something to me. It gave me comfort. And it gave me pride.”
Johnson also criticized Abbott and Republican lawmakers for targeting Pride symbols.
“I want to remind the Republicans and the Legislature and Governor Greg Abbott that you think you can pave over our existence and our history, and you cannot,” she said.
While rainbow crosswalks disappeared from streets across Texas, cities found new ways to celebrate LGBTQ+ communities. Austin installed a marker recognizing LGBTQ+ history, Dallas added rainbow-colored library steps in Oak Lawn, San Antonio installed rainbow-colored sidewalks near its former crosswalk site, and El Paso wrapped lamp posts in Pride colors.
Houston’s answer is now visible above one of the state’s most historic LGBTQ+ neighborhoods.
In a statement, Whitmire said his support for the LGBTQ+ community dates back decades and pointed to the decision to personally fund the banners.
“My steadfast support for Houston’s LGBTQIA+ community dates back for decades,” Whitmire said. “I am proud to continue that legacy by supporting the installation of these new Pride Banners in Houston.”
For supporters gathered in Montrose, the banners represent more than a replacement for the crosswalk. They are a response to a political fight that began when the state ordered Pride symbols removed from Texas roadways and a reminder that, despite the removal of the rainbow crosswalk, LGBTQ+ visibility remains a defining part of the neighborhood.
