Hundreds gathered under sweltering summer temps at the corner of 1400 Woodland St in East Nashville Saturday morning to paint the city’s first rainbow crosswalk in front of East Nashville’s lesbian-owned bar, The Lipstick Lounge.

“We’re finally getting a rainbow sidewalk that is crossing city streets,” East Nashville resident Adam Barnes said as he helped others tape around the existing crosswalk alongside his husband Luke Finck. “The recognition that we’re gaining in the community is awesome… you can’t just drive by and completely ignore that there’s a gay bar here,” he said.

More: Nashville will paint and dedicate rainbow crosswalk at the end of Pride Month

Community members volunteered to paint bright colors between the standard white-striped crosswalk.

Metro Nashville LGBTQ Caucus, Council member Clay Capp, Nashville Department of Transportation and Nashville Pride partnered for the project.

The crosswalks were chosen for several reasons, city officials said.

“Part of the reason why we chose this corner… these are city roads, so the state has no dominion over what we can do right here,” Metropolitan Council District 7 Council Member Emily Benedict said.

Finck shared the significance he felt participating in the event.

“I think (it’s) historic, being a part of the moment in Nashville. It’s a long time coming and being recognized as a community, as part of the community, that’s going to be here continuously not just in June, it’s throughout the year,” Finck said.

East Nashville residents Coury Palermo and Robby Stone shared how special the crosswalk felt to them.

“To see something – growing up in kind of the bible belt, religious world that we grew up in – and is such a prominent piece where we live is very special to us,” Palermo said.

Stone said it’s meaningful that the crosswalk is in an area he drives through every day.

“I think it’s about the community, we’ve got such a unique, diverse, eclectic East Nashville community… but it’s especially special being in a place that I drive through every day, and I’ve been on these streets for years now and just really love this community and love how inclusive it is,” Stone said.

“I think this is just a visual representation of that inclusion.”

Tfae McFly and Chandler Lewis of Columbia made the drive out to East Nashville Saturday morning in support of the queer community and to celebrate a birthday.

“It’s actually my birthday tomorrow and I couldn’t think of anything better to do than be out here and show support for the queer community in Tennessee because we are so often overlooked and outright attacked… this is so important,” McFly said.

“Everybody’s so happy and in a good mood and this is such a fun thing to get to do… so I could not miss that, there’s just no way, no way,” she said.

Lewis agreed the event was a fun way to kick off the weekend, noting its significance in the queer community.

“I feel like the community needed it. I feel like it’s a step towards what Nashville needs in the gay community,” Chandler Lewis said.

Katie Nixon can be reached at knixon@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Community paints 1st rainbow crosswalk in East Nashville