Each year, the parade reflects current social and cultural happenings within the LGBTQ community.
Since its beginnings in the early 1970s, the parade now known as LA PRIDE has had a mardi gras-like and carnivalesque quality, presenting political platforms and viewpoints in a fun and celebratory manner. The parade route has since moved to West Hollywood. The original route went along Hollywood Boulevard, starting at Hollywood and Highland, moving east to Vine Street, and then back to Hollywood and Highland to finish. The first pride parade took place on June 28, 1970, with approximately 1,000 people in attendance. The original intent behind this parade was to celebrate LGBTQ resistance during the 1969 New York Stonewall Riots and to provide an experience in which LGBTQ individuals could feel pride in their identities, see others like themselves in a public setting, and not feel alone. The organization was responsible for organizing the world's first LGBTQ pride parade, which took place in Los Angeles. is a nonprofit service organization within the LGBTQ community. Founded in 1970 and incorporated in 1976, Christopher Street West Association, Inc.
