One of Baltimore's most famous harbor lights is going dark, in the name of energy-efficiency.
Starting Wednesday, the National Aquarium in Baltimore is taking down the iconic blue neon wave on the south side of its Pier 3 building, an enduring symbol of Maryland's "world of water" and a fixture on the city skyline since the building opened in 1981.
The aquarium is replacing the neon wave with one made of "light emitting diodes" or LEDs, a light source that is expected to cut the energy use associated with illuminating the wave by 70 percent. It's also part of a national trend in which neon lights of all kinds, from Boston's famous Citgo sign to lights in local shopping malls, are giving way to LED systems.
The $75,000 Inner Harbor project has drawn some concerns from the aquarium's architect and first board chairman, who say they hope the replacement wave will have as strong and pleasing a visual effect as the neon wave.
"It's a signature element of the building," said architect Peter Chermayeff of the original neon wave. "It's not a sign. It's a work of art. It's an important part of the architecture."
"It's a piece of Baltimore history, and it's easily recognized by people everywhere," said Frank Gunther Jr., the aquarium's first board chairman. When there's a nationally televised football or baseball game in Baltimore at night and the camera pans across the city skyline, he said, "you can see the wave on the side of the building and know it's the aquarium."
But aquarium representatives say the replacement wave will be the same size, shape and color as the 350-foot-long wave that has illuminated the building for nearly 29 years, and they're confident it will have a similar visual effect. If anything, they say, the new wave will be even bluer than the original. They say the LED system was selected because it looks like neon but uses less energy, and being energy-efficient is part of the aquarium's mission and message these days.
"We are well aware of and we cherish the iconic nature of this wave," said Tim Pula, senior director of capital planning and facilities for the aquarium. "It's one of the most recognizable features on the city skyline. It's good advertising for us. We're not looking to re-invent the wheel. We're just trying to change the medium that transmits the light, to make it more energy efficient…It's a repair and replacement of what is there with a new technology."
The last night for the neon wave was Tuesday. Workers with Triangle Sign and Service, the Maryland company fabricating and installing the replacement, were scheduled to start taking the neon light down Wednesday and install the new one. The project is expected to take three weeks to finish. Once the new light is operating, they say, it will be illuminated the same hours as before, from dusk to dawn.
"It will look identical to the neon," said Bob Nethen, project and sales manager for Triangle. But "it's 10 times more efficient, and it's more durable. We're following the existing pattern. You won't be able to tell the difference from one to the other."
Nethen said he realizes what an important symbol the aquarium is for Baltimore. "It's like the Sydney Opera House. It's important that it look like it does now."
Pula said the aquarium began studying what to do with the neon wave about a year ago because it was getting to be 30 years old and becoming a maintenance issue. He said the aquarium would frequently get calls that "a section of the wave" was out and would have to call Triangle to make repairs. He said the repairs were costing an average of $7,000 to $8,000 a year.
At the same time, he said, the nonprofit aquarium has been replacing many of the fluorescent and incandescent lights with LEDs in the city-owned building to help save energy.
During the past year, Pula said, the aquarium consulted with Ashton Design of Baltimore and the electrical engineering firm of Kovacs Whitney on what to do about the neon wave. He said aquarium officials considered replacing the neon wave with another neon light or choosing an LED system but never considered not replacing the wave at all.
After investigating various designs and testing mock-ups, Pula said, the aquarium chose an LED system made by General Electric.
Nethen said his company is using the original neon wave as a template for the shape of the LED wave. He said Triangle is being careful to make the plastic tubing the same diameter and mount it to the building in the same fashion as before.
Nethen noted that Triangle has been in business since 1937 and made a number of neon lights around the city, for commercial and institutional clients. He said many of Triangle's clients are switching to LED systems, including retailers such as Lenscrafters, M&T Bank and The Gap.
Because LED technology is more energy-efficient and fabrication costs keep dropping, "none of our clients are using neon anymore, he said. "LEDs are the wave of the future…LED is eating neon's lunch right now."
Chermayeff said he understands the aquarium staff's desire to save energy, but he also believes there is a preservation aspect to the replacement process. He said the neon wave was designed to be a slender, "lyrical" expression that could stand out against the rough concrete nose of the aquarium and be seen from across the harbor at night to help "gently convey that it was an aquatic museum."
He said he and his brother, graphic designer Ivan Chermayeff, chose neon lighting for the wave because of the strong and constant quality of light it gives off, the way it illuminates the surface of the concrete and the harbor below, and how easy it is to see from far away even thought the line is relatively narrow.
Peter Chermayeff noted that the neon wave on the outside has a corresponding blue neon wave inside the aquarium, above the wharf level "sting ray tray," and visitors are meant to see a relationship between the two lines. If one is neon and one is LED, he said, that relationship breaks down.
"It's not just a question of energy use," Chermayeff said. "It's also about appearance. Neon has a certain character, a certain timelessness."
Pula said the aquarium board probably will eventually replace the interior neon wave with an LED system as well, but that would be a separate project.
Once the exterior neon sign is down, it may not go far. Jen Bloomer, media relations manager, said the aquarium plans to save the original pieces of the neon wave and find ways to reuse them somehow as part of the aquarium's 30th anniversary celebration in August 2011.
Sandy Hillman, a marketing executive who served as the city's promotion's director when the aquarium opened, said the art-related elements of the building, including the neon wave and the signal flag wall, played a big role in the way the building was received initially.
She said she will be impressed if the aquarium, which imparts a strong conversation message to visitors, has found a way to replicate the effect of the neon with a newer technology and save energy, too.
"We all have a responsibility to be energy conservationists," Hillman said. "The aquarium has to do more than most since [conservation] is one of its missions. … It's important to practice what you preach."