{"id":230725,"date":"2026-03-22T02:11:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T02:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/230725\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T02:11:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T02:11:08","slug":"bay-bridge-lights-cast-a-new-shine-golden-gate-xpress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/230725\/","title":{"rendered":"Bay Bridge lights cast a new shine \u2013 Golden Gate Xpress"},"content":{"rendered":"

After three years of darkness, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge got its spark back in its grand re-lighting ceremony on March 20. Burning man attendees, parents and drum lines alike gathered in colorful cohorts along the Embarcadero to witness a new era of the local legend.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The bridge\u2019s re-lighting comes as a long anticipated project of Illuminate<\/a>, a local public art organization responsible for the original bay lights installation in 2013. At the helm of the mechanized LED light system that charges the western end of the bridge is light artist Leo Villareal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While the Golden Gate Bridge\u2019s majesty often overwhelms tourists, the Bay Bridge holds it down as a point of admiration for locals and commuters alike.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Long-time San Francisco locals like Frog Gilmore remember when the lights first came on. The wonder of the lights\u2019 initial illumination made it that much more devastating when the city lost the exhibit in 2023. Beyond the shock of losing the legendary exhibition, Gilmore lost a part of herself.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe prior set of lights, you could actually dedicate a light to somebody. We had dedicated a light to our mutual friend, Joy, who has passed away,\u201d Gilmore said. \u201cYou could look at one of the strands and you could tell. That made it extra special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite minute changes in the bridge\u2019s light programming, the all-LED exhibition still comes with a whopping $11 million<\/a> price tag. Since the bridge\u2019s darkening, the price of the bay lights have been a point of contention among locals. Among controversy over potential repairs to the original work in 2023, San Francisco Chronicle urban design critic, John King, made a strong argument against their reprise.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t artwork that prods us to look at the structure or the skyline or the city or the region in a different way. It\u2019s a pleasant gimmick in a setting that doesn\u2019t need gimmicks and hype,\u201d King wrote in a 2023 article<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Compared to the initial installation\u2019s budget of $8 million<\/a>, the privately-funded<\/a> re-opening upped the ante. At the scene of the lighting, money didn\u2019t seem to be on the minds of spectators. Children enthusiastically waved LED light-up wands, stepping in beat with Afro-Brazilian Carnaval troupe, Fogo Na Roupa<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As the troupe marched down the Embarcadero, spectators held\u00a0 the nearest railing anxiously waiting for the switch to flip. Scheduled for 7:40 p.m., the programming ran minutes late, leaving the entirety of Pier 14 holding their breath.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Spectators wait for the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge\u2019s lights to turn on along Pier 14 on Friday, March 20, 2026. (Klyde Java<\/a> \/ Golden Gate Xpress)<\/p>\n

Among the crowd was Trisha Puniani, an Embarcadero resident, and her two dogs, Cookie and Tequila.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Puniani\u2019s six years living in the city, originally hailing from India, she has made countless memories along the Embarcadero. At the pivotal center of her memories resided the bridge. As she cradled Cookie, Puniani joked about how her dog wasn\u2019t even born yet when the lights went out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen a lot of beautiful moonrises over the bridge. It\u2019s one of the most gorgeous sights I\u2019ve seen,\u201d Puniani said. \u201cTo be able to experience that on a daily walk is a blessing. This means a lot for us. This is our ritual.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Puniani has the pleasure to experience the bridge\u2019s glory firsthand on a daily basis, spectators traveled from far and wide. Amheric Hall, a freelance culture photographer, came all the way from Reno to see the spectacle. Despite being a visitor to the local phenomenon, Hall recognized the importance of the event.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gives us something to focus on besides all the troubles,\u201d Hall said. \u201cIt lightens our hearts and our spirits. At least for me, that\u2019s what it does.\u201d<\/p>\n

Long after the excitement of the initial show died down, spectators lingered in the unexpectedly warm evening as the bridge continued displaying different lighting programs. Caught in the lingering moments after, former Burning Man campmates and old friends Gilmore and Dominic Tinio reflected on their time in the city together.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gilmore and Tinio have lived in the city\u2019s Mission District for a combined total of over 40 years. Tinio\u2019s brief stint living in Reno a few years back made his return to the city that much more fruitful.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember when this bridge wasn\u2019t even this bridge, it was the old bridge. I didn\u2019t think there was anything wrong with it. Then they built it and it was glorious,\u201d Tinio said. \u201cIt\u2019s a beacon of progress. That\u2019s my bridge, a lot more so than the Golden Gate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike their 2013 predecessor, the new and improved bay lights were built to last. Illuminate\u2019s reprisal of the program is intended to last at least 10 years against San Francisco\u2019s harsh maritime conditions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBridges always represent quite a few things. It\u2019s a means of getting from one side to the other in a lot of different ways,\u201d Hall said. \u201cIt could mean from a day that\u2019s not so good to a better day, which a lot of us always hope for.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After three years of darkness, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge got its spark back in its grand re-lighting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":230726,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[143,145,144],"class_list":["post-230725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/230726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}