Bright Lights, Big Whoop: Trump finally turns on the lights in Chicago, a little
Will Petty
Can you see it?
“Trump International Hotel & Tower® Chicago will command around-the-clock attention when the building illuminates its massive spire for the first time at sunset, June 23.”
And so came the official word that the majestic spire situated atop Trump Tower would finally be illuminated last night. Given such a description, we should have been expecting to trip the light fantastic. But what did The Donald ultimately deliver? Little more than a dual-colored, dime-store nightlight.
All right, maybe nightlight doesn’t give the Trump Empire enough credit. After all, the spire’s new lighting structure consists of some of the first LED, high-performance exterior architectural floodlights ever manufactured. The red and blue lights now shining up there actually represent new energy-efficient lighting innovation for high-rise projects. And as oil continues to gush into the Gulf of Mexico, a little more energy efficiency in any form is a good thing.
But come on, this is Chicago’s Trump Tower. It’s a striking new edition to the skyline. Its spire is practically touted as the top of the mountain—a glorious beacon of capitalism and imagination and attainment. They should have gone wild with this thing. There should have been light beyond the visual color spectrum. There should have been lasers. They should have made a cowboy hat out of fireworks. They should have turned Trump Tower into a super-conductive antenna, a la Dana Barrett’s apartment building.
Instead, it’s just a little red and then a little blue. And while it’s wonderful to gift Chicago with such illumination prior to Independence Day, this could have been so much bigger. This was an opportunity to one-up the rest of the world, especially that lame light show atop the Eiffel Tower. Isn’t domination what we do best? This is America. Decide for yourself:
