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Bay Lights to return with dazzling new display after 3-year hiatus
The iconic Bay Lights will shine again this Friday. A newly upgraded installation will transform the bridge into a dynamic canvas visible across the Bay Area.
OAKLAND, Calif. - The Bay Bridge will once again glow at night as the Bay Lights officially return, after going dark three years ago.
The large-scale public art installation, created by artist Leo Villareal, is set to relight Friday, restoring a familiar nighttime feature to the Bay Area skyline.
"This is the Bay Lights everyone knows and loves with the original sequences, but I've added a tremendous amount of new material that I've been working on, because my code has evolved over the last 10 years," said Villareal. "So I think the piece will have much more richness and depth."
Originally unveiled in 2013, the Bay Lights transformed the western span of the bridge into a dynamic digital canvas, drawing visitors to the waterfront.
The project was spearheaded by arts nonprofit Illuminate, founded by Ben Davis, and funded through $11 million in private donations.
"You know what people are going to see when the Bay Lights return is a radical evolution of this artwork that has been in place for more than a decade," said Davis. "So I believe we’re going to go from awesome, 25,000 lights on the side of this 1.8-mile-long bridge, to sublime, something that is really, really distinctly different and beautiful every single night."
The lights went dark in 2023 after years of exposure to wind, rain and salt air damaged the original system.
Larger, longer-lasting installation
The new installation is designed to be more durable and technologically advanced.
Friday’s relaunch will activate about 25,000 LED lights, and the view that is most visible from San Francisco.
Another 25,000 lights have already been installed facing the East Bay but will remain off until final safety testing and approvals are completed.
When fully operational, the installation will feature about 50,000 lights, creating ever-changing patterns across the bridge. The computer-generated display ensures no two sequences are ever the same.
The updated system uses specially designed LED fixtures built to withstand the harsh conditions along the bridge by Iowa-based Musco Lighting.
"These are custom engineered to do well over time, and they have lavished their innovative technology and attention on this product," Davis said.
Organizers say the goal is for the installation to last well beyond the next decade. While the lights carry a 10-year warranty, the system can be monitored and adjusted over time as needed.
Restaurants and businesses along the waterfront are also anticipating the return of visitors drawn by the sparkling bridge.
"We’re really excited to have the Bay Lights come back because what it does is it just elevates the experience that all of the guests at Waterbar and EPIC are going to have when they come for dinner," said Pete Sittnick, managing partner of sister restaurants Waterbar and EPIC Steak. "And I think the thing that’s really special is just the joy that it brings."
The relighting is scheduled for about 7:30 p.m. Friday. The date also falls on the 92nd birthday of former Mayor Willie Brown, whose name is on the bridge’s western span.