Equality House, Rainbow-painted house in Topeka, Kansas, United States
Equality House is a single-storey house at 12th and Orleans Street in Topeka, Kansas, facing Westboro Baptist Church. Its horizontal siding is painted in stripes of red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple, with a grey shingled roof, a red brick chimney and a rainbow flag on a pole. A blue sign on the porch railing reads "PlantingPeace.Org" and the number 1200 is on the left column.
Planting Peace founder Aaron Jackson bought the house in 2012 for $81,400 after spotting a for-sale sign while browsing the neighbourhood on Google Earth. In March 2013 a military veteran painted it in rainbow-flag colours and it was named the Equality House. It served as a volunteer residence, became the organisation's main office in 2016, and stopped being headquarters in September 2018.
The rainbow paint job was done in March 2013 by a military veteran as a tribute to the pride flag, and the house was named Equality House. A Westboro representative reportedly said she loved the paint job because it kept attention on the church's message. Visitors still photograph the exterior and the "PlantingPeace.Org" sign on the porch railing.
Visitors can photograph the exterior of the building and view it from the street, though interior access is not typically permitted. It is helpful to visit during daytime hours when the colors and details are most visible.
In October 2016 the house was defaced with homophobic slurs and seven bullet holes were found in its exterior. The graffiti and holes were deliberately left in place, and visitors are encouraged to write messages of love on the vandalized wall.
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