DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Friday, June 12 marks 10 years since the night of the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando — a tragedy where 49 people lost their lives.
WATCH BELOW: "I think this is very, very important," advocate Ronnie Dunayer tells WPTV's Joel Lopez
For many in Delray Beach, the heartbreak is still felt and emotions made greater by the frustration over a memorial that’s now gone, and the mounting obstacles to bringing some form of alternative to replace it.
Just blocks from downtown, there once was a rainbow-painted intersection — a Pride mural created to honor the victims of Pulse.
“People were so sad about what had happened,” said local advocate Ronnie Dunayer. “Local people came together, put this together, paid for it themselves.”
That memorial is now just faded bricks.
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The Mural That Was — and the Day It Was Erased
WPTV reporter Joel Lopez covered the Pride intersection battle extensively.
In August 2025, Delray Beach leaders pushed back against state pressure to remove the mural, arguing it sat on a city road — not a state road.
But within weeks, the Florida Department of Transportation came in anyway, sandblasting away the vibrant rainbow down to the bricks to comply with a statewide push to regulate road markings and remove political and ideological messaging.
“It was just very, very sad and depressing,” Dunayer recalled.
The state even removed the rainbow crosswalk outside Pulse in Orlando.
Boynton Beach preemptively took theirs down; West Palm Beach removed a Pride crosswalk in Northwood but later replaced it with a rainbow corner in a nearby park.
Delray Beach initially explored legal action but shelved the idea, citing a potentially costly fight. The city suggested instead putting resources toward creating a new memorial. That was nearly a year ago.
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The Plan for Something New — and Permanent
Dunayer and other local residents formed the Delray Beach Pride Memorial Committee.
By March, they had designed a proposal: a rainbow pyramid monument, etched with the meaning behind each color, honoring the victims, illuminated at night.
“Signs and flags and things like that don't represent the level of permanence that I think that this kind of a monument can bring forth,” Dunayer said.
She believes Old School Square would be the perfect spot — near the Eagle Scout monument and just steps from where the Pride mural once was.
“I think this is very, very important,” she said.
WATCH BELOW: Boynton Beach removes Pride intersection
A New State Law Changes Everything
When WPTV asked Commissioner Juli Casal about the delay, she pointed to a fresh legal barrier: Senate Bill 1134.
“Part of the issue is we have to work within the parameters of the law and what is permitted by the state, we do rely heavily on funding from the state and that becomes a problem so we're just trying to figure out what is the solution that can work for everybody,” Casal said.
The bill — now awaiting the governor’s decision — would ban local governments from funding or supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Passing 25-11 in the Senate and 77-37 in the House, it could put state funding at risk if municipalities use city property or dollars for such projects.
“Delray Beach honors the diversity that is our community. It's what makes us special and the residents should know that that is the case,” Casal said. “We're really trying to figure it out. Every day there's a new preemption and every day there's something new to try to figure out how we are working with or around.”
Two major hurdles remain: using city money for the memorial, and placing it on city land.
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So, is there a workaround?
"Is it safe to say if we were to find private funding and private property it might accelerate this process?" asked Lopez.
“Oh 100% — private funding and private property, we wouldn't even need the city. It could be done… it could be done tomorrow,” Casal said.
Ronnie said she's not giving up hope to bring her pride pyramid monument to life but is open to other creative ideas.
She's reaching out to state leaders and national organizations to find solutions and bring representation and a tribute to the Pulse victims back to Delray Beach.
“Every time you came by here it brought you back to the importance of our standing up for ourselves and what those people gave,” she said. “They gave their lives not knowing that they were, but we have to value that and respect it and perpetuate it going forward.”
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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'This is our street': Delray Beach Pride mural to remain despite state pressure
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'We’re fighting back as a city': FDOT sandblasts Delray Beach Pride mural
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'It’s trespassing': City requests surveillance to prevent removal of mural
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City removes Pride intersection to comply with 'transportation mandates'
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New art projects to replace pride murals removed from roadways
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