A Popular Lighthouse Uprades Its Lighting System to Ensure It Is a Highly Visible Landmark

Just across the Hudson River with panoramic views of New York City, the modern LeFrak Point Lighthouse has become a popular urban attraction and picnic spot in the Newport area of Jersey City, N.J. However, the lighthouse recently needed a refresh to match its stunning views of Manhattan.

Standing approximately 40-feet tall with a 14-foot, 6-inch diameter, the LeFrak Point Lighthouse is not an artifact from the past. Sam LeFrak was the visionary who developed the Newport area starting in the 1980s. Depending on which story you choose to believe, the structure is either purely decorative, built to honor the Lighthouse Foundation that was a favorite of the LeFrak family, or it was used as a navigational aid for yachts and boats as they sailed into the nearby marina. It is not currently a functioning lighthouse but serves as an attractive, highly visible landmark on the waterfront.

To improve its overall appearance, the LeFrak organization wanted to refresh the area around the lighthouse, which included updating the landscaping, as well as replacing the existing lighting with a modernized color-changing system that allowed for festive and dynamic lighting that could be customized for special occasions.  Prior to the renovation, the lighthouse had flood lights with a non-functioning control system.

The award-winning architectural lighting design firm Focus Lighting was assigned to oversee the project. The team, led by Erin Ryan, senior lighting designer, established the criteria for the new lighting system.  Focus Lighting has handled many high-profile projects across the country, including the top of the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, N.C.

Just Add Color

In addition to wanting excellent color mixing for the new lighting system, the lighting team realized that the lighting fixtures would have to be small in size, suitable for exterior locations near water and be well shielded to prevent light spillage into nearby residences. 

After reviewing several lighting fixtures, Focus Lighting specified Dyna Drum EO Color fixtures from Acclaim Lighting. The fixtures are high-output, compact outdoor-rated LED floodlights with a wired digital communication network. They feature an internal 100-277VAC power supply and onboard DMX+RDM driver, and each unit includes Acclaim Lighting’s Aria wireless DMX technology inside for easily changing color schemes. They additionally come with a 10-degree narrow beam standard with optional quick-change spread lenses for wider applications. The Dyna Drum EO Color fixture is also IP66 rated for wet locations and operates between -40 F to 125 F.

“We love the color mixing that the Dyna Drum fixtures achieve,” Ryan says. “The fixtures also offer ease of maintenance and are available with field-replaceable lens options.”

Eight Dyna Drum EO Color fixtures were mounted around the outside of the lighthouse with tenon mount stub up pipes on small concrete bases. Another Dyna Drum EO Color fixture was mounted to a Unistrut anchor inside the lighthouse to create an additional lighting layer. Installation was completed by Sorrentino Electric.

The result, according to Ryan, is that the client was very pleased with the outcome of the design; it allows the LeFrak family to achieve its goal of being able to easily change the lighting scenes for the enjoyment of visitors and the community.