Hoan Bridge Group Nears Fundraising Goal For Lighting Lake Side
Final push would complete project that started in 2020.
Hoan Bridge lights. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
Lights, camera, Hoan Bridge.
The nonprofit group behind the bridge lights, Light the Hoan, announced Wednesday that it has raised more than 90% of its $1.4 million goal to install lights on the east (lake) side of the Interstate 794 bridge.
The west (city) side of the bridge was first illuminated with great fanfare in 2020. The organization continues to program the lights, including offering synchronized light shows, tributes for major events and a series of community programs. For a donation, the lights can also be illuminated in a pattern of your choice.
“Every dollar donated not only brings us closer to lighting the east side of the bridge but also supports local organizations and the missions that make Milwaukee extraordinary,” said organization executive director Erika Smith in a press release.
The group hopes to install the east-side lighting next summer.
Bulb dedication starts at $25 and includes an escalating series of perks, starting with memorialization on the website.
The organization’s community programming includes: Shine a Light, a nonprofit fundraising program; Code the Hoan, an education program that teaches youth how to program the Signify LED lights; and a summer Intern Challenge, where company-based teams of college students learn to program the lights and compete for who can create the best show.
Light the Hoan also hosts an annual Hoancoming fundraiser, which is basically a floating party with musical entertainment synced to the bridge lights.
In launching a $2 million east-side fundraising campaign in 2023, the organization said it hoped to install the lights in time for the Republican National Convention. Additional funding was to be raised to sustain the 501(c)(3) nonprofit’s operations.
The west side of the bridge is visible to more people on a daily basis, but lighting the east side has been seen as a way to make the bridge appear in more skyline shots of the city and at several lakefront events.
Built between 1970 and 1972, the Daniel Hoan Memorial Bridge is nearly two miles in length. It opened to the public in 1977, after being derided as the “Bridge to Nowhere” for five years. It is named after former Milwaukee Mayor Daniel Hoan. A campaign to convert a portion of Interstate 794 through Downtown into a boulevard does not include demolishing the bridge.
Want to see what the lights look like up close? See our article and photo gallery from 2020.
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