Yesterday, the eastern slope of Twin Peaks was turning bright pink again as volunteers hauled an acre of sailcloth into place for San Francisco’s annual Pink Triangle, the massive Pride Month landmark that can be seen across the city. Organizers said the final panels would be laid and the installation dedicated Saturday morning, with hundreds of community members expected to crowd the hillside for the ceremony. Earlier in the day, Mayor Daniel Lurie raised the Pride flag at City Hall, where activists briefly interrupted the event to protest proposed cuts to HIV and AIDS services.
How the triangle gets built
Crews spent Friday setting a five-foot border of shiny pink sailcloth and hammering in hundreds of 12-inch steel spikes along the outline so teams could fill the interior with 175 bright tarps. Organizers had signed up roughly 800 helpers to finish the job, and volunteers ferried water and power packs up the hill while working through gusty winds, according to SFGATE.
A symbol reclaimed
The Pink Triangle began as a badge of persecution used in Nazi concentration camps and has been deliberately reclaimed by LGBTQ+ activists as both memorial and warning. “The triangle started during the Holocaust to label homosexuals,” founder Patrick Carney said, describing the Twin Peaks display as an act of remembrance and community building, according to ABC7.
City Hall flag raising and budget tensions
At City Hall, Lurie hoisted the Pride flag and greeted the crowd with “Happy Pride, San Francisco” before activists briefly broke in with chants over planned cuts to HIV services. Lurie responded that the city would backfill federal funding shortfalls for HIV and AIDS programs, a pledge organizers and advocates immediately seized on during the ceremony, per ABC7.
When and where to see it
Organizers scheduled the installation to be completed today, with a public dedication set for 10:30 AM that will feature the San Francisco Pride Band. The Pink Triangle is slated to stay in place through June 28. The event schedule and volunteer signup are posted on the San Francisco Pride Band calendar and on The Pink Triangle website.
Past vandalism and legal fallout
The installation has not been without backlash. In June 2025, panels were defaced, and police arrested a 19-year-old who was later charged with felony vandalism, though prosecutors declined to add a hate crime enhancement. The damage cost thousands of dollars, and organizers warned that replacement tarps and repairs would strain the project’s budget, according to SFist.
Enduring visibility on the hill
Despite the cost and the occasional vandal, organizers say the Pink Triangle remains a rare kind of open-air classroom looming over the city. “It's a giant, in-your-face educational tool,” Carney has said, per SFGATE. For many San Franciscans, the Twin Peaks landmark serves as both a Pride celebration and a reminder that symbolic gestures only go so far without on-the-ground services to match, organizers and advocates say.
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