Hermosa Beach lifeguard tower will wear Pride colors permanently

The Hermosa Beach lifeguard tower on 13th Street painted in June to celebrate LGBTQ Pride Month will permanently retain its rainbow colors, officials announced Monday.

According to Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn’s office, the rainbow paint job will be maintained by the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors, which oversees lifeguard towers across the county. That includes one in Venice that also has been painted Pride rainbow colors.

Initially, the tower was expected to return to its original iconic blue color at the end of the summer.

“The rainbow tower is beautiful and has become a symbol of this community’s love and support for LGBTQ rights,” said Hahn 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.”

In a tweet, Hahn also thanked the Los Angeles County Lifeguards for their support of the tower’s transformation.

After Long Beach’s Pride Tower burned down in March —  it was later replaced — local teen Izzy Bacallao and family members launched the effort to have the Hermosa Beach lifeguard tower painted.

The painting of the lifeguard tower in rainbow Pride colors took more than a week and was completed by the help of numerous volunteers.

On June 26, the city celebrated its first all-day celebration in honor of LGBTQ Pride Month with a ribbon cutting at the lifeguard tower with dozens of residents and LGBTQ allies joining the festivities along with city and county officials.

Izzy Bacallao’s father Jose said in a phone interview Monday that it is a “proud moment” when he heard about the tower’s future. To him and his family, the tower represents that “we’re all very unique.”

“I think it’s a powerful statement that a little town in the South Bay can broadcast out to the rest of the greater Los Angeles region that this is a safe place to come, where everyone’s welcome, where everyone’s respected and loved,” Jose Bacallao said.