LAX GATEWAY PYLONS TO BE LIT GREEN IN SUPPORT OF EARTH DAY 2015

WHAT:                        The 100-foot-tall LAX Gateway pylons that illuminate the main entrance to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) will be lit in various shades of green in support of Earth Day 2015, which occurs on Wednesday, April 22.  

Earth Day marks the anniversary of what many consider the birth of the modern environmental movement. The first Earth Day, celebrated in 1970, led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts.

Earth Day is the largest civic event in the world, celebrated simultaneously around the globe by people of all backgrounds, faiths and nationalities. More than a billion people participate in the campaigns each year.

WHEN:                        Dusk on Tuesday, April 21, 2015 to dawn on April 22, 2015

Dusk on Wednesday, April 22, 2015 to dawn  on          Thursday,       April  23, 2015

WHERE:                     Century Boulevard entryway to LAX.

ABOUT  LAX

PYLONS:                    The LAX Gateway pylons have become a symbolic gateway to Los Angeles since they were first lit in August 2000.  In 2005, airport workers installed a new system of light-emitting diode (LED) fixtures that were unavailable in 2000.  LEDs are small devices        that convert electrical energy directly into light. 

Significant cost savings were realized with the new system. The 2,000 LED fixtures in the pylons consume 75 percent less electricity than the previous 736 lamps and burn for 75,000 to 100,000 hours, compared to 3,000 hours for the original lights.  By eliminating moving parts, motors, lamps and filters required of the old system, maintenance costs also significantly decreased.

The 1.5-mile lineup of 11 translucent, tempered glass columns of increasing height from 25 to 60 feet along Century Boulevard, culminate with a ring of 15 100-foot-tall columns at the intersection of Century and Sepulveda boulevards. Together, with 32-foot-high “L-A-X” letters facing eastward to welcome incoming motorists, the pylons create what is considered the world’s largest permanent public art light installation.  The pylons, oriented skyward and designed to mimic an aircraft takeoff pattern, are visible to airline passengers from 3,000 feet.

                                    The pylons are illuminated in a variety of colors –                                     16       million       color             possibilities --                                            and sequences as designed and programmed by                               lighting          artists and airport staff.

CONTACT:                 Marshall Lowe, LAX Public Relations, (424) 646-5260.