IlluminaleBoston08

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Boston Herald - July 15, 2008
Fall festival to illuminate Hub landmarks
By Donna Goodison | Tuesday, July 15, 2008 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets

Landmark Boston buildings and bridges will be illuminated to show off their architectural splendors at night for the city?s first lighting festival this fall.

During ?IlluminaleBoston08,? teams of 30-plus lighting designers will light up South Station, Rowes Wharf, 175 Federal St., the Custom House Tower, the Flour and Grain Exchange and the Congress Street, Northern Avenue, Evelyn Moakley and Summer Street bridges.

The Oct. 1-5 festival, which will highlight creative and energy-efficient lighting, is the brainchild of Hub lighting designer Lana Nathe, of Light Insight Design Studio in Boston. It?s timed to coincide with other ?Go Green? activities planned for the Oct. 4 inaugural celebration of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. The lighting displays, some of which will be audited for their environmental impact, will be turned on from 5 p.m. to midnight each day.

?The night imagery of this city is one of the reasons why we?re doing this,? Nathe said. ?If you go to Europe, their cities are glowing, and the jewels of their historical buildings are illuminated. Boston has that charm.?

Nathe modeled the Boston event after Luminale. Held every two years in Frankfurt during the Light+ Building trade fair, the German festival attracts more than 100,000 visitors to see 220 illuminations and 180-plus events.

While some Boston lighting displays will simply illuminate a structure?s architectural elements, others will tilt toward the theatrical with animated lighting and light-emitting diodes (LED) that change colors.

?The Custom House will be in its warm glow originally like it was in the ?80s, but it?s going to be more with energy-efficient materials,? Nathe said. ?The Northern Avenue bridge will be interactive, and people will walk across the bridge and trigger lights.?

Some featured structures are on festival partner Light Boston Inc.?s list of candidates for permanent lighting, and Nathe hopes some of the lighting will remain in place after the festival ends. ?When the lights go out, we want that energy of ?Wow, that?s nice, we want to focus on this,? ? said Nathe, who envisions the festival becoming a regular Hub event.

?It supports our general program of lighting the historic sights of Boston,? said Ben Colburn, Light Boston?s president. ?Our hope is that this type of event shows that lighting can be fun and also bring an economic benefit to the city.?

The participating lighting design teams are donating their time, but the festival group has set a $300,000 fund-raising goal to defray equipment costs. Excess funds will benefit Light Boston.

An updated festival Web site will be available in about a week at www.illuminaleboston.com.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1107064
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Sounds like a good idea. I hope this gives MassPike a push to re-illuminate the Zakim to the brightness it used to be. Is it just me or is the lighting on the Zakim dimmer than it once was? Would like to see the Tobin lit up as well.
 
Thanks IlluminateBoston...I will definetly be in town to see this.....sad that the citizens of Greater Boston can only enjoy this spectacle for a few days....Our great buildings and urban environment should be illuminated every night. I can imagine the beatiful and dramatic effects created by proper lighting of the Longfellow Bridge or the Mass Ave Bridge as it reflects into the Charles River on warm summer - or icy cold winter evenings. I have always thought that Boston needs more and better lighting especially during our dark and dreary winters. Your effort will be greatly appreciated.
 
Awesome thanks for the heads up.
I work at night so I will deff be able to get some photos of these great buildings.
awesome.

thanks again for the heads up.
 
Why did the Custom House tone down it's lights,Did it happen after it was converted to a hotel?
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Thanks Boston02124.....i've never seen the custom house look so good in the night sky.....your photos illustrate the powerful effect of light in the urban environment .. ...more and better lighting for our city....please.....
 
It's like a mini Symphony of Light that HK holds every night, without the tackiness though I do enjoy watching it.
 
Bos_Mia said:
Thanks Boston02124.....i've never seen the custom house look so good in the night sky.....your photos illustrate the powerful effect of light in the urban environment .. ...more and better lighting for our city....please.....
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Thanks I took those when it was re-lit by Boston Edison,what year I can't remember,anyone?
 
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Todays Globe.I did,nt scan the story that went with it! This looks cool!
 
Haha this reminds me of a David Cross bit where the city of Atlanta had a big festival downtown and the attraction was that they would turn all the lights on in the buildings.
 
175 Federal St.
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I couldn't figure out why.... and now I've seen the mock up I understand even less.

Not a pretty building by any means. Is it just because it has that huge surface underneath and is across the way from S. Station? Otherwise I think they've gone a bit loopy.
 
atlantaden said:
Sounds like a good idea. I hope this gives MassPike a push to re-illuminate the Zakim to the brightness it used to be. Is it just me or is the lighting on the Zakim dimmer than it once was? Would like to see the Tobin lit up as well.
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Apparently, the workers stole all the gels. I bet they have some really tricked-out fog lights in their IROCs now. Now that there are no gels to steal, they don't bother much with the bulb replacements. Wish I could remember the source, but it was in the print media.

This light festival? Um. I have some ideas on how to spend the money.

Build parks. Finish the Greenway. Plant trees in the barren wilderness that is ... really, pretty much every street outside the South End and Back Bay. Have Keith Lockhart prance like a pixie in the Hatch Shell the fourth of every month, not just July. Paint Joker slogans on the street. Anything but this utterly bogus plan that is a spectacular waste of financial and natural resources (and is terribly disruptive for the natural night habitat of birds, owls, insects).

Epic fail.

Oh hai, I have another idea. FIX THE LONGFELLOW!
 
AdamBC said:
I couldn't figure out why.... and now I've seen the mock up I understand even less.

Not a pretty building by any means. Is it just because it has that huge surface underneath and is across the way from S. Station? Otherwise I think they've gone a bit loopy.
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This(175 Federal) is where they need to tear down and build taller!

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for its very prominent location, yes I agree it could be taller. I've been in there and its still got some great views though.
 
^Ya same. My uncle's office on one of the top floors, and it overlooks Chinatown and down towards the pike...and I must say it is quite an impressive view. Next time I get to visit him there, I'll definitely get pictures.
 
That's funny..I was having this conversation with a buddy of mine on Sunday.. Boston could really benefit from additional lighting on the skyline.
 
Boston's a pretty dark city at street level at night, especially when compared to other major cities. NYC (well, Manhattan) benefits from such a high concentration of commercial establishments and their lights, but Boston could do better at illuminating sidewalks.

I've always thought Boston should illuminate its buildings more, so I think this is a good thing. It should be done on a more permanent basis.

I think the Longfellow ought to be heavily lighted at night. It's a gem in its own way and it would be nice to be able to see its stonework and arches at night. Once it's fixed and cleaned up, that is.
 
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