In celebration of the university’s 200th year, the iconic Burton Tower will glow in new maize and blue lighting for the bicentennial’s UMich200 Spring Festival.
Starting the week of April 3, the tower will be illuminated in white lights. The lights will transition to maize and blue and end with a multimedia light show supporting the “True Blue! A Tribute to Michigan,” event at Hill Auditorium on April 8.
The floodlights were replaced late last year with a new system that illuminates the tower from within, with more than 100 LED bulbs that can be programmed in various colors. The new system will create a subtle white glow from within the tower by highlighting the Baird Carillon bells and the openings at the top.
A $1 million fund was created to install, operate and maintain the new lighting. Leadership donors Ron and Eileen Weiser established a $500,000 challenge grant. Their friends Paul Dimond, John Carver and Tim Wadhams solicited gifts of $25,000 each from alumni, faculty and members of the community, matched dollar for dollar by the challenge.
The Lighting Practice from Philadelphia will serve as the project consultant. The firm has designed lighting for such prominent structures as the Empire State Building in New York City and the U.S. Capitol Dome in Washington, D.C.
