One of the reasons I left Salt Lake as a young man in the ’90s was because I couldn’t imagine a full queer life here. Granted, I never really gave the city a chance and rushed off to gayer pastures—LA, NY, DC, Amsterdam, Santa Fe. It was a coincidence then that, after taking a new job as the Managing Editor for Salt Lake magazine, I ended up back in town on June the First, the beginning of Pride month.
That first afternoon, as I headed up to the City Cemetery for a welcome home visit to my mom’s gravesite, traversing through Liberty Wells and 9th and 9th and the Avenues, a rainbow wave washed over me. SLC was decked in celebration for Pride.
I know you didn’t all do this to welcome me but thank you for the warm greetings just the same. I didn’t expect a parade! For me? You shouldn’t have. In all seriousness, I had my concerns coming back to Utah at a moment when waves of hate seems to be rising and even cresting in a loud crashing roar, with more on the horizon out past the break. But then I heard what the city did by declaring its new official flags, and as I roamed the lovely, graceful neighborhoods where my roots developed, I saw my new neighbors putting out their multihued welcome mats and knew that this was, for me, the place, again. I marveled at, well, the amount of Pride on display. So today, I ducked out of the office and sought out to capture in a few photos what feels like a personal welcome home mat for me.
Here are a few of my favorite proud houses of Salt Lake.
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And June isn’t over yet, so order a new Sego Lily Salt Lake Pride flag from Project Rainbow, or pick them up at Cahoots at 9th and 9th.
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