St. Pete Pride Street Mural Targeted Within An Hour Of Repainting

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Less than an hour after the community came together to repaint a recently defaced LGBTQ+ Pride street mural Thursday night in St. Petersburg, it was targeted again by vandals.

Three people on dirt bikes drove through the Grand Central District mural, located at the intersection of Central Avenue and 25th Street, between 9 and 9:30 p.m. in an attempt to do a burnout on the artwork and leave behind tire marks.

The drivers taunted the crowd of onlookers outside nearby bars Ride’em Cowboy and The Salty Nun, several of whom had helped to repaint the mural earlier in the evening. Some onlookers ran into the intersection to prevent them from defacing the artwork.

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One driver threw a water bottle at someone trying to chase them away from the area and threatened to shoot people in the crowd.

Police responded to the scene to speak with witnesses and patrol the area.

The mural was already blocked off to traffic by concrete blockades that evening as the recent paint job dried.

By Friday morning, the mural had been defaced with a black substance that seemed to be dripped onto the artwork. There were also faint tire marks left behind.

The mural was recently repainted by volunteers on May 6 just ahead of LGBTQ+ Pride month in June. It was initially painted in 2020.

The mural was first defaced on May 17 and May 22 when two separate vehicles did burnouts to leave behind tire marks on the artwork. Both were caught on camera.

About $1,100 in damage was done in these incidents, which could earn the person who defaced the mural a felony criminal mischief charge, St. Petersburg police said.

While the city purchased the paint used in Thursday evening’s community repainting of the mural, the volunteers were organized by Ride’em Cowboy and CC’s Painting. CC’s also donated all of the supplies needed for the job.

Eric Vaughan, St. Petersburg’s new LGBTQ+ liaison, told Patch that it was important to repaint the mural as soon as possible.

“We wanted to get it ready for Pride month and with so many visitors coming from all over the country, especially during this crazy time and all the events happening,” he said. “We wanted to make sure St. Pete was ready and welcoming. So, this is a sample of that inclusion and how we want people to feel; so, when it was defaced, we wanted to make sure that we fixed it in time for Pride month.”

CC’s co-owner Jessica Danielson said the mural is a symbol of the city’s reputation for being diverse and welcoming, especially to the LGBTQ+ community.

“We have been shouted at and called every name under the sun. We’re not gonna let some stupid act like that change the pride we have,” she told Patch. “This (repainting) is a beautiful show of the pride that we have for our city, especially Grand Central, the gayborhood. We all know what this neighborhood is about and what it stands for. It just seemed wrong not to repaint it.”

While pressure washing the mural Wednesday night to prepare it for being repainted, she said two trucks, including one with a city logo, tried to drive through it with the intention of leaving burnout marks on it.

Vaughan and police Chief Anthony Holloway told Patch these incidents hadn’t been reported to the city yet.

Holloway said that the St. Petersburg Police Department has received several tips about the initial vandalism of the mural. The agency is investigating the recent defacement of the artwork and the Thursday night incident as well.

“This mural means a lot for the city, a lot for the community,” the chief said. “So, we are investigating. We’re still following up on leads.”

Anyone with information on any of these incidents is asked to contact St. Petersburg police at 727-893-7780 or text SPPD and the tip to TIP411.