The Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC opened to the public in 1943. Lighting manufacturer Osram Sylvania wished to commemorate their 100th anniversary by relighting the 129 foot tall, 32,000 ton stone memorial. The goal of the project was to enhance the Memorial’s visual impact with site lighting, and increase the energy efficiency of the lighting system. The National Park Service recommended Summer Consultants prepare the electrical design based on our work on the Washington Monument. The Jefferson Memorial is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and all designs have to be approved by the US Commission for Fine Arts.
The new interior lighting had to be installed in existing lighting positions to avoid altering the historic fabric of the building. Summer Consultants worked with the lighting manufacturer in developing a fixture to meet the site limitations.
The final results increased illumination by 30% and previously dark areas were lit, to include the memorial’s front façade, steps, and dome interior. Despite the increased illumination, energy consumption was reduced by 80% by converting the light fixtures to induction, metal halide, and LED.
Maintenance was reduced due to longer-lasting lamps and the web-based lighting control system detects lighting outages and sends notification to the National Park Service’s maintenance division.