"The Gay Strip" at N Main Avenue
Pride Flag in front of the Pride SA shopping center facing N Main Avenue.
A segment of North Main Avenue located between E Ashby Street and E Euclid Avenue is known colloquially as the Gay Strip. North Main Avenue runs in a north-south direction beginning downtown at Main Plaza and terminates at W Summit Avenue, before resuming from W Olmos Drive to Zilla Street. The Gay Strip is in the center of the Pride Cultural Heritage District (PCHD), providing a variety of queer-owned, and operated businesses oriented toward the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Queer (LGBTQ+) community.
Most of the PCHD is located within the Tobin Hill neighborhood, about one mile north of the city center. The PCHD is roughly bound by E Elmira Street to the south and W Grayson Street and N St. Mary's Street to the east. San Pedro Avenue, including San Pedro Springs Park, marks the district limits to the west. To the north, the district is bound by E Mistletoe Avenue, except for an extension that stretches to W Mulberry Avenue. North Main Avenue runs in a north-south direction. The avenue begins downtown at Main Plaza and terminates at W Summit Avenue, before resuming from W Olmos Drive to Zilla Street. San Antonio College has a major presence on N Main Avenue.
The avenue became the heart of the countercultural movement in the 1960s and 1970s in part due to its proximity to San Antonio College. Activity related to LGBTQ+ sites began during this time, due to the societal changes in the United States. LGTBQ+ owned and operated businesses have since been established along this corridor such as Sunset Boulevard, The Copa, Paper Moon, The Saint, HEAT, and Knockout, along with many others. The district has been an integral part of LGBTQ+ history and culture in San Antonio in subsequent years. This history includes activism, government persecution, and the mobilization of the community during the AIDS crisis, and activism manifested in artistic expression such as parties, drag shows, as well as Pride marches and picnics.
The Gay Strip served as the home for Pride Bigger Than Texas from 2003 before moving to Crockett Park in 2011. In 2017, Pride San Antonio shut down N Main Avenue at Evergreen and, under the direction of community activist Rosie Gonzalez, a rainbow crosswalk was placed in chalk as a prototype for a permanent Rainbow Crosswalk envisioned in the same location. A year later, Pride San Antonio, in partnership with the City of San Antonio and a City Council resolution sponsored by District 1 Councilman Roberto Treviño, installed a permanent Rainbow Crosswalk in advance of Pride Bigger Than Texas.
Ribbon cutting of the Rainbow Crosswalk at the intersection of N Main Avenue and Evergreen in 2018 with Mayor Ron Nirenberg, District 1 Councilman Roberto Treviño
Pride SA monitors to ensure that the Rainbow Crosswalk is maintained and cleaned every three weeks. Initially the cleaning was done by a small team of volunteers from the community and Pride SA. Now, Pride SA hires a company to clean the crosswalk.
The district is home to personal stories of finding family, first loves, first heartbreaks, and experiences like visiting local businesses on a sunny day and gathering for celebratory nights. The PCHD is a living story that continues to be written by people every day.
You can learn more about the Pride Cultural Heritage District here!
Learn about OHP’s Local Markers Program, which includes the History Here program, and watch all episodes of There’s A Story Here.
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