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Bay Lights public-art project unveiled at Ferry Building; organizers say project is privately funded and nearing goal
Summary
Organizers and Mayor Lee celebrated the Bay Lights project at the Ferry Building, describing plans for 25,000 LEDs across the span and saying roughly $6 million of an $8 million budget had been raised to fund a two-year installation.
A large public-art ceremony at San Francisco's Ferry Building highlighted the Bay Lights, a privately funded installation that will illuminate the bridge with 25,000 LED lights.
Ben Davis of Illuminate the Arts and artist Leo Villareal described the project's technical and permitting hurdles and thanked a wide group of private sponsors and public-agency partners for support. Villareal said the technical installation required a 1.8-mile fiber-optic network and extensive night work on the bridge; the team had staged lane closures and executed difficult overnight installations to hang lights in harnesses 525 feet above water.
Organizers said they had raised "just over $6,000,000 of our $8,000,000," all from private sources, and that the work would be publicly visible without a ticket. Mayor Lee called the project a civic "beacon" and the city praised partnerships among Caltrans, the Bay Area Toll Authority, the Port of San Francisco and private donors. Project leaders said the installation would be active for two years and aimed to draw regional visitors and economic activity.
The artist and sponsors emphasized that the piece is free to view and intended as a public gift; technical leads described collaborative engineering and specialized mounting hardware that enabled the lights to be safely and securely attached to the bridge structure.
The unveiling included remarks from regional mayors and partner organizations. Program partners said a formal public webcast and celebration would accompany the project's official lighting.
