Empire State Building Bathed in Pretty Incredible Light

RED, navy, pink, yellow, chartreuse, silver, turquoise ... They all eventually appeared in the flip of the switch.

That was the scene last night when Alicia Keys moved the light switch from off to on and the tower of New York’s iconic Empire State Building (ESB) was lit up like a Christmas tree with state-of-the-art LED lights for the ESB's first-ever light show. (See video above.)

The colors are among an inventory of more than 16 million. Yes, 16 million, up from a paltry 10, not 10 million. That means lemon-yellow and orange-orange; it means pastels, earthtones, muted and blindingly bright. After all, there are 16 million of them. Only a relative few, however, were displayed last night, but they had great backup to the tune of AK’s mini concert (broadcast on Clear Channel Media and Entertainment), featuring the Grammy winner’s “Empire State of Mind” and “Girl on Fire.”(See photos below.)

Alicia Keys with hands on switch ready to start the light show. Photos courtesy of the Empire State Building.

ESB threw in with lightmeister Philips Color Kinetics for the upgrade, which will allow for a lighting-scheme change in real-time rather than the laborious hours-long process that required a village. Not only are there now more colors and less time in which to display them, the colors are high-def, meaning they will be more brilliant, illuminating features of the building that were heretofore obscured.

With the Philips Color Kinetics LED system, light can also be strategically focused and used to create fanciful effects such as bursts, particles and ripples. Further, the light is harnessed, minimizing any disturbance to surrounding buildings. And best of all, it will complement the night sky rather than stand out like a garish beacon.

Let there be light, then, and plenty of it!

Visit http://www.esbnyc.com/ to learn more about the Empire State Building LED lighting system.

PHOTOS

Navy blue and silver

Fire-engine red, marine blue, navy blue and magenta

Marine blue, gold and fire-engine red

Gold, pink, red and purple

Navy blue, silver, pale pink, and turquoise