Charlotte’s skyline illuminates daily with colors for causes. Here’s how it happens
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For nearly two decades, the buildings that make up Charlotte’s distinctive skyline has brightened the night sky with multicolored lights to recognize important causes, promote events and celebrate holidays.
Downtown Charlotte buildings were littered with rainbow colors to commemorate Pride Month. Red, white, and blue were featured to observe the Fourth of July.
The skyline previously also lit up green –- one of UNC Charlotte’s primary school colors –- in 2019, after a mass shooting on the campus claimed the lives of two students and injured four others.
Moira Quinn, chief operating officer and senior vice president of communications for Charlotte Center City Partners, coordinates the colorful lighting across uptown with committees at Ally, Duke Energy, Bank of America and Truist among others.
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How the Charlotte skyline went from occasional to a daily light show
After the Charlotte skyline was first illuminated blue to celebrate the Carolina Panthers’ first trip to the Super Bowl in 2004, more light color requests were submitted, Quinn said.
However, before skyscrapers were equipped with sophisticated LED light systems where the color could be changed with “the press of a button,” Quinn said, the process involved a crew inserting color gels inside the lights and windows of each building.
“If they changed the lights for the Panthers, it would stay that way for a month,” said Quinn. “It was expensive, and there were a lot of man hours involved.”
Now, the skyline changes shades almost every day, but the buildings aren’t always color-coordinated.
“This past Sunday, there were a group of buildings that were gold for the Presidents Cup, a number of other buildings that were blue for the Panthers, and there were a couple of other buildings that were lit a different shade of blue for Rosh Hashanah.”
Charlotteans can submit light color requests
Quinn fields 20 to 30 requests per month for causes like breast cancer awareness and teacher appreciation day, but there are certain inquiries that are immediately rejected.
“I won’t do baby naming, anniversaries, birthdays, or anything else that’s too personal,” Quinn said, adding that requests for light colors to represent political issues or for-profit businesses are generally not accepted.
Light color requests can be emailed to Quinn at mquinn@charlottecentercity.org. People can also contact the Wells Fargo lighting committee at WFLightsCLT@wellsfargo.com.
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