Sad News: Oak Lawn’s Landmark Monument & Cathedral of Hope, Defaced

Photo courtesy of Brenda Marks

Update: Let the power be with you! Brandon Meeks of OSME Power Washing Services donated his time to power wash off those nasty numbers. All gone! Anyone need a great power washer for a patio or home? Call Brandon Meeks: he has a big heart, too! [email protected]

You’ve got to wonder, as I always do, what lurks in the brains of people who do stuff like this?

Over the weekend, at least two spots in Oak Lawn, including the Legacy of Love Monument, a landmark for the city’s LGBT community, were defaced with red paint early Sunday morning.

At the Legacy of Love Monument, located at the intersection of Cedar Springs Road and Oak Lawn Avenue, vandals painted the numbers “666”.

The 35-foot monument is maintained by the Oak Lawn Committee.

Oak Lawn Committee president Brenda Marks said she was saddened to hear from a friend that the monument was vandalized. Over the past few years, the Oak Lawn Committee has spent nearly $15,000 on repairs from car crashes. But in this case, she said it hurts more because the damage was intentional.

“This one broke my heart,” she said. “The symbol, it’s the mark of the devil on a monument that’s dedicated to those who have lost their lives to AIDS.”

Apparently, Marks and several volunteers spent their afternoon cleaning the monument of the markings, which apparently have some religious, anti-Christ reference: 666 is the gematria of the name of the antichrist.

Of course, 666 is also a progressive rock double album by psychedelic/progressive art rock group Aphrodite’s Child. It was released in 1972. Yeah, even I remember it.

Somehow I don’t think these vandals were thinking of Aphrodite’s Child. They also defaced the Cathedral of Hope, near Cedar Springs and Inwood roads, which has a large gay and lesbian membership. The “666” graffiti was found on the driveway.

Also, the Dallas Morning News reports that the building at Maple and Oak Lawn housing the Dallas Observer at Maple and Oak Lawn avenues was also defaced.