We wish all our members a warm and festive holiday season! To celebrate all things merry and bright, we wanted to shine a spotlight on AES Indiana’s LED Window Light Display at their headquarters on the Circle. (Source: AES Indiana)
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Can you share the history of the window light display?
The AES Indiana window lights began in 1954 with red and green stripes for Christmas. Back then, maintenance crews had to change each bulb by hand. Even though technology improved, it still took two workers eight hours each to place individual glass color filters on each light fixture to create the images before we installed LED fixtures in 2008.
How does the window display work?
Today, we use computer software to control the lights and create a myriad of colors and movement. It’s just a click of a button to change images and colors. AES Indiana’s 10-story building has 267 individually controlled windows, each equipped with 36 high-efficiency bulbs that can generate 16 million different color combinations.
What have been some of your favorite window display partnerships over the years?
Taking advantage of Monument Circle’s unique space, AES Indiana collaborates with Downtown Indy, Inc. and the Indiana War Memorials Commission to present the Signature Salute, which plays nightly, 365 days a year. It starts with a 10-minute countdown and concludes with the five-minute presentation. Coordinated audio, video and light projections featuring the sounds and images of historic significance unfold across the surrounding building facades and statues on the Indiana Soldiers and Sailors Monument. Four beams of light soar skyward from each quadrant lighting Victory (atop the Monument), signaling Indianapolis as the Crossroads of America.
How can GIPC Members get involved with the display?
If your organization or event would like to request a display on a specific date, please send an email to AES Indiana Community Relations at aesindianapublicaffairs@aes.com. Please include the following information:
- Date(s) requested
- Name of associated event or organization
- Display request – for example: all red, rainbow, specific color ribbon, specific words or hashtag, etc.
Please submit requests at least four weeks before your requested date. AES Indiana makes every effort to honor window lights requests; we run the lights from sundown to the following morning.