In Florida, Drag Queen Sells Bricks from Removed Rainbow Crosswalk to Fund LGBT Organizations
In October 2026, Florida-based drag performer Miss Bouvèé (the stage persona of Eric Swanson) launched a charity initiative to support local pride organizations by selling pavers recovered from a dismantled rainbow crosswalk in Miami Beach. According to reporting by LGBTQ Nation, Swanson acquired 50 blocks of the historic pavement at a municipal surplus auction, mounted them with commemorative plaques, and is offering them to donors in exchange for contributions directed to Naples Pride and Key West Pride.
The colorful crosswalk at 12th Street and Ocean Drive in South Beach was designed pro bono by Savino & Miller Design Studio and installed in November 2018 as a tribute to LGBT inclusion and to Leonard Horowitz, the preservationist and designer who crafted the iconic pastel palette of Miami Beach’s Art Deco Historic District. In October 2025, the Florida Department of Transportation, following policy directives from the administration of Governor Ron DeSantis, removed the crosswalk citing highway safety regulations and restrictions on non-standard roadway markings. The City of Miami Beach contested the removal without success; municipal officials later repurposed part of the pavers for an adjacent sidewalk pedestrian plaza and auctioned off the surplus.
Under the fundraising initiative, donors who contribute $250 or more directly to the Naples or Key West pride committees receive an authentic inscribed paver. The funds are earmarked for stage production costs and performer compensations at a time when newly enacted state statutes (including CS/SB 1134 and SB 1143) have prohibited municipal and public funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programming. According to Swanson, a significant portion of the $15,000 goal for Naples Pride and $7,500 for Key West Pride has already been raised.
Ocean Drive in South Beach has for decades served as an internationally renowned waterfront promenade and the cultural core of Miami Beach, blending historic Art Deco landmarks with a thriving LGBT hospitality and community scene.
State-level policy regarding symbolic infrastructure and public funding in Florida has repeatedly drawn scrutiny: Urania previously detailed the loss of municipal grant funding for the Stonewall National Museum & Archives under Governor DeSantis’s anti-DEI laws, as well as wider political debates surrounding LGBT civic engagement in the United States.
