Artist Shawn Thurston's has begun painting a mural titled "Will Not Be Erased" on Lomax Street. The boxes are windows. | Community Task Force
Published on July 27, 2026 at 12:46 pm
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A mural to commemorate the Five Points neighborhood’s past, celebrate its diversity and affirm its LGBTQ community is taking shape at the iconic corner.
The mural — called “Will Not Be Erased” — is partly a reaction to an order from the Florida Department of Transportation a year ago to remove messages or images on crosswalks and pavement to make “roads safer and easier to navigate.”
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The order included rainbow-colored crosswalks like those used to decorate Five Points.
City Council member Jimmy Peluso praised the mural that local artist Shaun Thurston began on Saturday.
“The state said we can’t paint on the roads. Fine,” Peluso wrote on Facebook. “We will just paint on the massive wall behind that street. This work has been a collaboration by artists, neighborhood organizations, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. This mural is for Five Points, and this mural is for everybody.”
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Officials all over Florida were alerted to changes in pavement safety rules in the memo from FDOT on June 30 2025. It said messages or images on municipal streets could be distracting. FDOT officials said the changes were in response to Senate Bill 1662, which directed the department to “ensure compliance with FDOT’s uniform system for traffic control devices.”
Critics across the state interpreted the mandate as an attack on the LGBTQ community. One of the state’s first actions was to paint over a rainbow crosswalk in Orlando near the Pulse nightclub, a gay-friendly bar where 49 people died in a mass shooting in 2016.
FDOT wrote to Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan on Aug. 21, 2025, that the city had to remove pavement and crosswalk art in San Marco, Springfield and the Eastside. It also said that three rainbow-painted crosswalks on Lomax and West Lomax streets had to be modified.
At the time, city spokesman Phil Perry said the FDOT mandate was perplexing, since some studies have shown decorated crosswalks to be safer. In a statement to Jacksonville Today, Perry reminded people that despite complying with the FDOT order, the city welcomes everyone and “public art beautifies the city while driving economic development.”
Planning the mural
The Jax LGBT Chamber‘s member businesses began working on alternatives, seeking painters and artists as it planned to counter removal of the rainbow crosswalk, said president David Vandygriff.
That resulted in a community task force that worked together to beautify Five Points. Its first project is this new mural, funded by the JAX LGBT Chamber of Commerce, Riverside Avondale Preservation, Five Points Merchants Association, Equality Florida, JASMYN and 12 other organizations.
“The ‘Will Not Be Erased’ mural is more than a painting — it is a promise,” states a Community Task Force statement. “It is a declaration that LGBTQ+ people have always been part of Jacksonville’s history and will continue to be part of its future. Through this project, we honor those who came before us while creating a lasting legacy for generations yet to come.”
The 1,700-square-foot mural will replace a black-painted wall at 1059 Park St., just east of Park Street, that has contained various pieces of art in recent years. Thurston is a Jacksonville native who has painted murals throughout the city, including EverBank Stadium, Cummer Museum of Arts & Gardens and the Museum of Contemporary Art.
The mural is slated to be completed before Jax River Pride 2026 celebrations in October. A Community Task Force statement said that it will strengthen cultural tourism, support neighborhood businesses, preserve local history and create a welcoming gathering place for community events.
The task force is making a final push for donations to fund the mural. Donations can be made to the 5 Points LGBTQ+ Pride Mural fundraiser.
Parking spaces adjacent to the mural will be blocked off during the monthlong painting process to prevent vehicles from overspray.
