03/21/2024
The beloved DVP rainbow tunnel has been vandalized yet again. But have you ever wondered where the tunnel came from or how the iconic mural has remained for more than 50 years?
The story behind the tunnel began in the early 70s, when B.C. Johnson painted the mural in memory of a friend who had passed away in a car accident on the DVP.
As the decades passed the mural would be painted over, neglected and vandalized many times. But Johnson and the local community would continue to repaint it over the years until the city handed over maintenance to in 2012.
Mural Routes is a charity that works with communities and artists to create and maintain more than 75 murals across the GTA. Right now they’re asking for donations to help them continue to restore the many murals they’re responsible for maintaining across the city, including the rainbow tunnel.
But regardless, Mural Routes will be there, this spring, next spring and every spring to come to keep the mural alive. Pictured are Mural Routes painting the mural in 2013 and swipe right to see a rare pre-rainbow tunnel from 1966.
📷: Bernard Weil/Boris Spremo
