Fundraiser for Bay Bridge lights almost at $11M goal, organizers say

SAN FRANCISCO - The organizers of the Bay Bridge lights announced they are close to raising the $11 million needed to turn the lights back on.

For a decade, San Franciscans could enjoy the lights display at night, and the view attracted visitors to the Embarcadero.

It has been just over a year since the moving lights display has been visible on the Bay Bridge. Organizers with Illuminate, the nonprofit art organization responsible for the lights, said as soon as they get the funds, they’ll begin working on getting brighter lights to make sure you can see them from anywhere in the Bay Area.

"It feels like there’s a hole in the night sky in San Francisco," said Ben Davis, founder and chief visionary officer of Illuminate.

Currently, they’ve raised more than $10 million of the $11 million needed through major gifts and crowdfunding.

"The next quarter of a million dollars really is the gift that kicks this project into gear," said Davis.

Davis said Illuminate set to raise $10 million in major gifts, but because they wanted everyone to be able to participate, they decided to raise the last million dollars through crowdfunding. The goal was for Bay Area locals to see the work of their own fundraising.

Of the $10 million in major gifts, the organization has secured $975,000, meaning only $250,000 is keeping them from formally starting the project. 

"Musco Lighting, an American-based family-owned company has taken on the responsibility for designing these lights to do well over time and maintaining them, so they perform flawlessly for the next decade and likely longer than that," Davis said, adding they will be more resilient against weather conditions. 

Before, the glow was only visible from San Francisco and the North Bay, but this time, the display will have double the number of LEDs – so more people can see them.

The artist is planning to place 50,000 custom lights facing both sides of the Bay, so now the East Bay will be able to get the view.

"We need to work successfully with traffic engineers at Caltrans and CHP but we believe you can safely experience these lights as you drive across the bridge at night," Davis added.

After the city’s been in headlines for crime and homelessness, it’s the way locals are hoping to bring positive attention to the city.

"There are a lot of beautiful parts of San Francisco like the people and the Bay Bridge lights that are often overlooked," said April Peng, who chose to live in the neighborhood for the views of the bridge. "We really miss the lights."

"It’s such a beautiful city, this just enhances it and just brings another reason to come and visit," said Pete Sittnick, managing partner at Waterbar and Epic Steak, restaurants on the Embarcadero.

When the lights were working, Sittnick said his restaurants were fully booked with people wanting a view of the Bay lights.

"We do get people asking, what happened to the lights that used to be up there?" Sittnick said.

"It will represent San Francisco. It will be shown during every sporting event, every moment. It sort of takes our bridge, the Bay Bridge, and creates the nighttime equivalent of the Golden Gate Bridge, which is the world’s bridge," Davis said.

As soon as the money is raised, organizers say it could be another year before the lights are fully operating. A formal timeline will be created as soon as the funds have been secured.