PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — In the void of a mural, a new historical marker stands tall.
This time a year ago, one of the many — but perhaps most prominent — tributes to Gloria Casarez was a source of pain.
Tricia Dressel, wife of the late LGBTQ+ Philadelphia activist, was alerted by a New York-based developer that it planned to demolish the 12th Street Gym on Locust Street. Along with that building, the mural on the side of it depicting Casarez would come down.
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Casarez, under then-Mayor Michael Nutter, was appointed as the city’s first-ever director of LGBT Affairs. She died from breast cancer in October 2014. The mural was unveiled on the first anniversary of her death.
When word of the mural’s fate spread through the city’s queer community last year, the reaction was intense.
“It’s emotional bringing up the loss of Gloria all over again,” Dressel told KYW Newsradio’s Shara Dae Howard in October 2020. Casarez and Dressel married in 2011 in a ceremony officiated by Nutter.
“Everybody’s really upset. Gloria’s mom worked on this mural — her aunt, her cousin. They [both] passed away recently.”
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But on Oct. 8, a Pennsylvania historical marker celebrating Casarez’s life and accomplishments was installed on the west side of City Hall. While this latest recognition won’t replace the Philadelphia native’s beloved mural, Howard hopes the marker will help further perpetuate Casarez’s legacy.
“This was an icon who fought for us, who was our voice,” Howard said on the latest episode of KYW’s The Rundown.
“This marker … was a way of winning anyway. This was a representation of the community’s resilience. Who better than Gloria Casarez to give that historical marker to?”
Listen to the full episode of The Rundown in the player above to hear more about Casarez’s lasting legacy.