Have you seen the tests for the Light the Hoan thing? The thing that raised millions of (private) dollars to line the west-facing side of the Daniel Hoan Memorial Bridge with programmable LED lights? The tests looked pretty good! Neat! Cool! Fab! Pretty! Nice! Swell! Fun!

Anyway, here’s a press release about the official lighting of the bridge, set for October 22.

OFFICIAL HOAN BRIDGE LIGHTING WILL TAKE PLACE THIS OCTOBER
October Lighting Premiere to Include Community Celebration

MILWAUKEE — After a three-month installation period, the first phase of the Light the Hoan project has concluded and will officially light the west side of the bridge on October 22, 2020, lighting the bridge daily thereafter. During the official bridge lighting, Light the Hoan, Code the Hoan and 88Nine Radio MKE will partner to broadcast a music-driven light show, to demonstrate the unique capability of the bridge lights and share the celebration city-wide.

As you may have seen along the skyline, test lighting of the newly installed west side lights will continue through the remainder of this week; lights will then go dark until the October premiere.

The Light the Hoan team will continue to fundraise the last $1.1 million of the $4.6 million project to light the east side of the bridge and continue to advance meaningful partnerships, some of which have been formed over the last two years to support the bridge’s significant technical capabilities.

Beyond animation and changing colors, the lights can be synchronized to respond to external events such as Brewers’ home runs, big plays at the Fiserv Forum, or even live music. All funds raised for the lighting, installation and maintenance were raised privately between May of 2018 and January 2020; no public dollars are involved.

ABOUT LIGHT THE HOAN:

A collective of local business and civic leaders, Light the Hoan is a committee of the Daniel Hoan Foundation. In May 2018, the group launched a public crowdsourcing campaign to help raise more than $3.5 million to illuminate the Daniel Hoan Memorial Bridge, the iconic tied-arch bridge spanning nearly two miles across Interstate 794.

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Matt Wild weighs between 140 and 145 pounds. He lives on Milwaukee's east side.