'The Bay Lights' Creator Seeks Light Sculpture On Market Street In Downtown San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) – The man who helped to illuminate the Bay Bridge with a light sculpture is hoping to bring a first-of-its-kind light show that would stretch the length of Market Street in Downtown San Francisco.
"From 1 Market, all the way to Van Ness, reflects above your head, what's happening beneath your feet with the transit system," said Ben Davis of Illuminate the Arts.
Davis is one of the people behind "The Bay Lights" sculpture on the Bay Bridge. On Wednesday, Davis was at City Hall, making a pitch for his next project called "Light Rail."
"Without question this project doesn't happen if The Bay Lights aren't shining as an example of what's possible," he said. "But I want to make a point that this is a different type of art than The Bay Lights. This is a form of civic activation."
The plan is to suspend LED tubes along the overhead Muni lines on Market Street.
When a train passes below through the subway, Davis said, "Literally a whoosh of light will come over your head, pause at Montgomery, and keep going, and be textured with the Muni system."
The light show's hardware would be supported by the city's antique light standards.
On Wednesday afternoon, the city's Architectural Review Committee examined models, and even a virtual reality simulation, to make sure that the hardware wouldn't alter them too severely.
Light Rail would be privately funded and only last until 2018, when Market Street is scheduled for a massive reconfiguration.
