Michael Adkison/Houston Public Media
Korny Vibes, a restaurant at the corner of Westheimer and Taft, now has a rainbow mural on it, days after the rainbow crosswalks at the intersection were removed.
Hours after the rainbow crosswalks were removed from the intersection of Westheimer Road and Taft Street, at the behest of the state government, a local Houston artist wanted to make his voice heard.
“I could just feel how upset everyone was and how they felt like Houston had turned its back on the gay community,” Nicky Davis said in an interview with Houston Public Media. “And I just thought the only thing I can do as a muralist — this is what I do — is paint the biggest rainbow mural I could find.”
Davis, who describes his art as “somewhat cartoony, nostalgic, evil Dr. Seuss,” grew up in Montrose. He had previously thought the rainbow crosswalks were a reflection that Houston was an inclusive city.
RELATED: Houston residents, officials push back against rainbow crosswalk removal
Earlier this month, Gov. Greg Abbott issued a directive for cities and counties to comply with federal guidelines, effectively banning rainbow crosswalks. Within hours, the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) said it would comply, ultimately removing the crosswalks on the morning of Oct. 20.
Shortly after the removal, Davis commented on social media that he was open to painting a free rainbow mural for any business in the area. That comment has more than 15,000 likes and hundreds of replies.
“Within like 12 hours, I probably had six death threats, threats of people coming to fight me, and if I paint a mural, they’re going to come out and do all sorts of things to it and to me,” Davis said. “And that just kind of made me feel like, yeah, this definitely needs to happen.”
He reached out to several local businesses and found one just yards away from the intersection. Korny Vibes, a vegan restaurant on Taft, agreed to a rainbow mural, Davis said.
Now, the white walls outside of the restaurant are painted with 10 different rainbow figures, each with a different face on them.
Korny Vibes declined to comment for this story but has praised the mural on social media.
Davis said he’d never taken such a political stance with his art, but he’s fully prepared to do it again.
“I’m reaching out to anyone — anyone on Westheimer, Montrose — who wants a free rainbow mural,” he said.
Michael Adkison/Houston Public Media
Chris Cruz, an LGBTQ activist, paints a rainbow on concrete along Montrose Blvd, on Oct. 27, 2025.
Others are using art to push back against the crosswalks’ removal. On Monday, several protestors stood on the Montrose Boulevard overpass of Interstate 69/US 59, holding LGBTQ banners over the highway. While there, Chris Cruz, a protestor, was painting a rainbow on the concrete overpass.
“I just really enjoy painting,” Cruz said, lathering orange paint on the concrete. “It’s one of my favorite things to do, and I felt it was something that I could give to the community that has given so much back to me.”
Cruz’s paint was washable, rather than permanent. In the Heights, former state representative and Houston ISD trustee Anna Eastman has similarly used chalk paint, which is not permanent, to etch her own rainbow crosswalks at the intersection of Harvard and 10th streets.