Miami Dade College to light Freedom Tower in LGBTQ pride colors on April 8

The Freedom Tower, a national landmark at 600 Biscayne Blvd. in downtown Miami, will show its LGBTQ pride at sunset on April 8.

The tower, once home to the old Miami News and from 1962-74 where thousands of Cubans were processed after fleeing Fidel Castro’s regime, will be lighted in rainbow colors the weekend of Miami Beach Gay Pride, which takes place April 7-9.

“Pride Lights the Night is an evening when buildings throughout Miami will showcase pride colors in support of LGBT pride and in memory of the Pulse nightclub victims and their families,” according to a news release from Miami Dade College, the current owner of the building, which was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2008.

On June 12, 2016, 49 LGBTQ people and allies, most of them Hispanic, were slain at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando — the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.

“We’re honored that the Freedom Tower will participate in our Pulse tribute for the Miami Beach Gay Pride weekend,” said Dave Cook, executive director of Miami Beach Gay Pride. “The Freedom Tower is going to join dozens of buildings throughout Miami and Miami Beach in recognition of the souls that we lost in Orlando.”