Volunteers install 23rd annual Pink Triangle in San Francisco as symbol LGBTQ community pride

Volunteers gather to install the 23rd annual Pink Triangle atop Twin Peaks in San Francisco. Photo: Leigh Martinez

Volunteers gathered Saturday to install the 23rd annual Pink Triangle atop Twin Peaks as part of San Francisco’s annual pride weekend. 

The installment represents the pink triangle used by Nazis during World War II in concentration camps to identify homosexuals. The large display is a visible, yet silent, reminder of man’s inhumanity to man. Where it once a marking device to persecute homosexual prisoners, it now serves symbol of pride for the LGBTQ community. 

“The giant Pink Triangle on Twin Peaks hovers over the revelry of SF Pride, reminding us that in our moments of joy, victory and celebration, the LGBTQ community has come a long way, but we have more to go,” organizers said. 

The triangle is nearly 200 feet across, one acre in size and is visible for up to 20 miles. It’s made up of 175 bright pink tarps and nearly 5,000 12-inch long steel spikes and it takes at least 125 people to install it. And when it's taken down, on Sunday, it requires help from at least 50 people. 

Included in the meeting was a commemoration ceremony with elected officials and the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom band.