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How Silver Lake’s Last ‘No Cruising’ Signs Got Taken Down
From left: Silver Lake Neighborhood Council member Maebe A. Girl, L.A. council members Hugo Soto-Martínez and Nithya Raman, and resident Donovan Daughtry stand by a “No U-turn” sign
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Courtesy Councilmember Nithya Raman's office
)
Topline:
The last known batch of Silver Lake’s “no U-turn” signs came down this week. The old signs were how police clamped down on cruising in the ‘90s — when gay men circled certain streets to find romantic partners — arresting anyone who did a U-turn on Griffith Park Boulevard between the hours of 12 and 6 a.m.
Why were the signs still there? Most of the signs were taken down in 2011. It’s unclear why nine U-turn signs were left up, according to Nick Barnes-Batista, communications director for L.A. city Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, but they’re on the lookout for ones elsewhere.
Who got the signs removed? Silver Lake resident Donovan Daughtry learned about the remaining signs through a podcast episode that explored L.A.’s gay scene in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and he raised the issue with councilmember Nithya Raman’s office. The Silver Lake Neighborhood Council later petitioned to get the signs taken down permanently.
Where are they being taken? According to Barnes-Batista, the neighborhood council is arranging to donate the signs to L.A.-based ONE Archives, the world’s largest repository of LGBTQ+ material.
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