LIGHTING/Reading brightens downtown to encourage visitors
Reading, Pa.’s Downtown Improvement District (DID) has added downtown lighting to update the district and encourage more nighttime visitation. Local businesses and residents have aided the project by paying for the purchase and maintenance of the fixtures through sponsorships.
The DID began planning the lighting project in 2001, when a 7,200-seat arena and other new attractions began driving people downtown. Commissioning designs from two companies, the district wanted the new lights to replicate the Mount Penn pagoda, one of Reading’s most distinctive and oldest landmarks.
After displaying the samples for public comment, the DID chose the design created by Syracuse, N.Y.-based Brandano Displays. It installed 84 fixtures, placing them on every other utility pole in downtown.
To pay for the purchase and maintenance of the lights, the DID is selling sponsorships of the fixtures. Sponsors pay a one-time fee of $325, plus an annual $25 maintenance fee. In return, a plaque with the name of the sponsor or someone to whom the sponsor wants to dedicate the light is mounted on the pole.
“We found out that more people support the downtown area than maybe we originally thought,” says Barbara Rahn, vice president of marketing and events for the DID. “It’s been overwhelming to see the support. The lights have definitely helped to brighten things up.”
More downtown lights are on the way. The DID has asked Brandano Displays to design light fixtures in the shapes of saxophones, trumpets, musical notes and theater masks to line the street leading to the Sovereign Performing Arts Center.