'Light the Hoan' effort gets a jolt from temporary installation of lights near bridge arch

Hundreds of colorful lights will illuminate a portion of the Hoan Bridge this week as an ambitious effort to install permanent lighting heats up.

Crews from Pieper Electric and lighting company Philips worked Tuesday to install temporary decorative lighting on the portion of the bridge's arch on the northwest side.

After evening testing Tuesday and Wednesday, the lights will be fired up Thursday during the Milwaukee Bucks game against the Boston Celtics for a demonstration. Big plays by the Bucks will trigger changing colors or flashing displays.

"The lights can move, dance or change color when a big play happens," said Michael Hostad, part of the group that launched the $4 million "Light the Hoan" effort last summer.

The lights face the city and won't be a distraction to drivers on the bridge, said Greg Jones, a Philips project manager overseeing the installation Tuesday afternoon.

Twenty three lights will illuminate portions of the bridge vertically and 190 feet of string lights will provide a more dynamic display. A total of 380 light "nodes" will be installed, with each the equal of a single bulb.

The lights were positioned so that they will highlight a section of the arch, the architectural highlight of the massive bridge that spans the Summerfest grounds and connects downtown to Bay View.

This week's undertaking is small-scale compared with the broad effort to light the entire bridge.

It's meant to demonstrate how the technology works and give potential supporters a firsthand look at the project, Hostad said.

Light the Hoan will use crowdsourcing to raise $1.5 million toward lighting the entire bridge.

For a minimum contribution of $25, supporters can finance one of the thousands of LED lights that would adorn the bridge, and the opportunity to post a tribute on the lightthehoan.com website. 

The Hoan effort is similar to lighting campaigns seen in other cities, including Memphis, Tennessee, which celebrated the lighting of the Hernando de Soto Bridge last weekend.

Milwaukee organizers say they have raised about $300,000 and hope this week's demonstration will lead to larger contributions from, say, companies that would offer lights in the names of their employees.

The demonstration will show "the extraordinary capabilities of the technology, from an expanded palette of more than a billion saturated colors to stunning dynamic effects that can be programmed to commemorate special events, holidays and important civic causes," a Light the Hoan news release said.

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Thursday's demonstration will be based at the Sail Loft, 649 E. Erie St., which offers a straight-on view of the part of the bridge that will be lighted. The lights will be controlled from a laptop in the restaurant.

On Friday, Light the Hoan supporters will stage a photo contest where participants can post pictures of themselves and the lighted bridge on Facebook and other platforms with the hashtag #lightthehoan.