Bay Lights

Tuesday night I joined the crowd lining the Embarcadero at the bottom of Howard Street to witness the official opening of the Bay Lights, a light installation using the entire western span of the Bay Bridge. It's billed as the largest LED light sculpture in the world. The bridge's suspender cables have been fitted with 25 thousand white LED lights, & artist Leo Villareal has programmed them to display constantly moving patterns. Beads of light fade in & out, ascend & descend, ripple & form shapes. It was fun to see a cigar shape zip back & forth across the entire span like a UFO.

I arrived about 20 minutes before the 9p lighting. Unfortunately it started raining immediately. I did not have an umbrella, so I huddled under a window of Ozumo restaurant along with a dozen others. There was a sizable gathering of young artsy types lining the Embarcadero, but within 15 minutes the crowd dispersed. The lights are scheduled to do their thing from dusk to 2am every night for the next 2 years. It's an impressive combination of art & technology & a slick way to celebrate the Bay Bridge.

§ The Bay Lights Grand Lighting!
05 March 2013, 7:00 pm - 2:00 am
The Embarcadero