When crowds gather at Baltimore's Inner Harbor tonight to ring in the New Year, the city skyline will provide the backdrop for a spectacular fireworks display that begins at midnight.
But in future years the skyline itself may be part of the pyrotechnics, with more than three dozen buildings illuminated nightly to create a dazzling, year-round light show.
That's the vision behind "Brighten Baltimore," a campaign designed to convince property owners and managers to light up Baltimore's architectural treasures to increase the perception of safety and vitality downtown.
Campaign sponsors, including the Downtown Partnership and the Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. (BGE) made progress last month when NationsBank illuminated its landmark Art Deco office tower at 10 Light St.
They'll add another building to their list tonight when the Maryland Port Administration lights up the World Trade Center at 401 E. Pratt St.
And there's more to come in 1995. Brighten Baltimore's consultants have prepared a master lighting plan that recommends the illumination of 33 more buildings downtown in the first phase of a multi-year program that ultimately could affect more than 100 buildings.
"Baltimore has a beautiful skyline, but at night it simply disappears," said Kathleen Proctor, a BGE program administrator working on the Brighten Baltimore campaign.
"If the city is brighter, it will be safer," she said. "It will improve the city's image and help draw people to the city, and that will benefit everyone."
The lighting plan was created by Grenald Waldron Associates of Philadelphia, a nationally prominent lighting consultant hired by Downtown Partnership and BGE. The same firm was responsible for the World Trade Center lighting that Inner Harbor revelers will see tonight.
To show what they have in mind, the lighting designers hired Hanlon & Partners, a local advertising and graphic design firm, to prepare "before" and "after" photographs of Baltimore's picture postcard skyline, as seen from the top of the HarborView condominium tower.
The first depicts the city as it appeared at night in mid-1994, with most of the buildings practically invisible because they are so dark. The second is the same photo, computer-enhanced to indicate how the skyline would look if building owners followed Brighten Baltimore's suggestions for lighting up key buildings at night.
Besides the illuminated NationsBank tower and World Trade Center, the second photograph shows blue neon lights around the Hyatt Regency Baltimore hotel and the office tower at 250 W. Pratt St. Pole-mounted floodlights washing the sides of the USF&G; Corp. Brighter tops for Commerce Place and Redwood Center. More neon on the National Aquarium.
The two views are as different as night and day. And that's just the point, according to lighting experts, who say Baltimore could have one of the most memorable night-scapes in the country, in a very short time, simply by "painting with light."
"A city with a lot of disconnected parts is not as friendly. But from the moment you begin to connect the pieces, you have a sense of place," Ray Grenald said.
"When used properly, [artificial lighting] can achieve magical effects -- enhancing, enriching and altering the perception of the city," he said.
The Brighten Baltimore campaign consists of two parallel efforts: a plan to guide illumination of the tops and sides of prominent buildings; and a streetscape lighting plan that focuses on improving lighting of storefronts, sidewalks, plazas and alleyways.
Starting next year, Brighten Baltimore representatives will begin making presentations to property owners to show what can be done. They'll also distribute manuals that explain the options available for various lighting situations.
Property owners are free to follow Mr. Waldron's recommendations or hire their own lighting consultants. NationsBank hired New York lighting impresario Douglas Leigh, who has illuminated such landmarks as the Empire State Building and the Citicorp Tower. The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions hired Philadelphia designer Luke Tigue to light up the dome atop its administration building on Broadway.
Initial costs may range from $40,000 to $50,000 for a relatively modest installation to $150,000 or more for a more elaborate project, Mr. Grenald said. The World Trade Center cost $341,000. BGE illuminated the top of its headquarters at Lexington and Liberty streets for $25,000 several years ago.
While waste of energy is always a concern, BGE representatives say, new lights are more efficient than ever and property owners are unlikely to see much difference in energy usage over time.
BGE is also offering special rates for nighttime exterior lighting. With those rates, representatives say, the monthly charge to illuminate a building could range from $200 to $1,000. On average, Ms. Proctor said, a property owner's bill is likely to increase less than 1 percent.
Lighting opponents
Nevertheless, lighting plans have drawn more than a little criticism from skeptics who say that it wastes energy and causes light pollution.
The target of the most criticism is the plan to light the World Trade Center. It calls for high powered xenon lights to shine from the building's base to elliptical mirrors at the top. The mirrors have been positioned to reflect the rays out into the night sky. When the weather is clear, designers say, the beams will be visible for 7 to 10 miles.
The plan has been questioned by wildlife experts who say it could affect the flight patterns of night-migrating songbirds, possibly causing them to fly into the building or each other. It also has drawn opposition from local astronomers, who say the lights will make it more difficult for people in the city to see the stars.
Despite these concerns, many members of the local Building Owners and Managers Association have been supportive of the program, as has the Schmoke administration. But its success will depend on the cooperation of private property owners.
Brighten Baltimore's facade lighting study identified 90 buildings the downtown area that would benefit from illumination. Of that number, 33 would have the greatest visual impact, including the USF&G; tower, the Bromo Seltzer tower, the Hyatt hotel, the Candler Building, Commerce Place, Signet Tower, and other structures visible from Federal Hill or Oriole Park.
Proposed lighting techniques include floodlighting the sides of buildings, tracing the outlines of buildings with neon or rows of Tivoli lights, backlighting parts of buildings to emphasize silhouettes, and "transillumination," in which interior lights are used at night to make buildings glow from within.
Not every building needs or deserves to be illuminated, Mr. Grenald explained. "If you can't see it, don't waste money lighting it," he said.
His plan would tailor lighting techniques to each building, taking into account both its architectural design and its place within the skyline. Other factors to consider are the installation cost, the operating cost, ease of maintenance and impact on adjacent buildings and spaces.
Floodlights for the facade
For the U. S. Appraisers Stores Building at Lombard and Gay streets, the designers recommended soft floodlighting for the facades, combined with a backlighting system to highlight the sculpted eagles adorning the building's corners.
To call attention to Market Place, where a $25 million children's museum is planned, the designers recommended that the windows of the Candler Building be articulated with colorful neon that would add "a note of playfulness."
Mr. Grenald said he is eager to see the city carry out his recommendations for a blue, glowing light to be placed within the Bromo Seltzer tower's open, upper archway. The blue light would recall the 32-foot-high blue Bromo Seltzer bottle that used sit on top of the building. The rest of the tower's intricate form will be illuminated from pole- and roof-mounted floodlights, accentuating its detailing and the four clock faces.
"You'll think you're looking at a lighted lantern," he said. "It'll be the most vibrant blue you've ever seen."
In general, he recommends lighting that brings out the "personality" of each building without forcing them to compete with each other, so the result is a unified and coherent composition. Within that composition, some buildings will intentionally be brighter than others and some will intentionally be more playful and dynamic, he said.
Enhancing public safety
Plans to illuminate the street-scape grew out of a 1991 downtown security task force report, which recommended improved lighting as a way to enhance public safety.
Starting this year, the city will fund a five-year program to upgrade lighting levels on downtown streets.
The Brighten Baltimore campaign also has developed a manual showing inexpensive ways that property owners can increase lighting around their buildings, whether they are three stories high or 30.
Examples of finished projects include the Marsh & McLennan building on Pratt Street and the Park Plaza building at Charles and Madison. Low-rise candidates for improving lighting include Lexington Arcade, the FishMarket and the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre, all of which are visible at the end of long vistas, and the Blakeslee Group building on Charles Street, part of the city's "Restaurant Row."
In 1995, the city will begin work on three demonstration areas to show how street lighting can be enhanced. The test areas are block-long sections of Commerce, Lexington and Pratt streets.
In each case, the goal will be "to create a more pedestrian-friendly environment," said Downtown Partnership spokesman Brian Lewbart. "It's not necessarily more lighting. It's more effective lighting."
For many people, well-lighted areas are synonymous with safety and poorly lighted areas are places to avoid, Ms. Proctor said. "Illuminated storefronts, doorways and dramatically lit facades can serve as beacons that orient people at night and make them feel safer."
Ms. Proctor said she would like to have 15 more buildings involved in some stage of lighting by the end of 1995 -- and perhaps all 33 by the end of 1996.
She said two of the next buildings that will feature facade lighting are nearing completion on the University of Maryland's Baltimore campus, a medical biotechnology building and a health sciences laboratory building.
"As more come along, others will want to join in," she said. "It creates a sense of momentum when people hear about it and want to get in on it."