Mall Monuments Outshine Capitol

Some members of Congress have noticed the Capitol Dome just isn’t as bright as the relit monuments on the Mall.

The Lighting Practice of Philadelphia, which won the lighting design contract for the U.S. Capitol, lit historic Philadelphia City Hall with metal halide luminaires mounted on the rooftops of seven surrounding buildings.

Congress is an easy target for criticism. Citizens may wonder about the relevancy of our representatives holding hearings on steroid use in baseball, for instance, or question the passage of the Patriot Act, or bemoan more significant measures, like Congress signing off on going to war against Iraq.

Lately, some members of Congress are probing another concern—that the capitol dome is being outshined by the monuments on the Mall. But not for long.

The Office of the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) has awarded a $671,000 contract to the Lighting Practice of Philadelphia to design the lighting for the U.S. Capitol dome. The lighting will not only be brighter, but more energy efficient. The project is a part of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) “Green the Capitol” initiative.

The Jefferson, Lincoln and Washington memorials have been retrofitted with more modern lighting. The Jefferson Memorial was refitted in 2001 with 12,000 white LEDs. They brighten Thomas, but also reportedly reduce energy use by 80 percent. LEDs, however, are not expected to be the solution for the dome, as the Capitol dome is illuminated via spot lights located on the House and Senate rooftops.

This being Congress, not everyone likes the plan. Republicans on the House Administration Committee said the almost $700,000 is a lot of tax dollars for a “mere assessment of potential savings,” and that refitting costs could be much higher. The committee also questions how much energy will be saved. Energy savings cannot be estimated, of course, as the Lighting Practice of Philadelphia has not revealed its lighting design.

One could conjecture that the design will follow the example of one of the company’s pervious historic building lighting projects— Philadelphia City Hall—where metal halide luminaires were mounted on the rooftops of seven surrounding buildings. The company did say it plans on using much of the existing lighting fixtures and wiring already on the House and Senate roofs.

Once the design is approved, the Capitol architect will select the contractor to implement the lighting design. The entire relighting effort is expected to be completed in six months.