In honor of September 11, the Tribute in Light once again illuminates the New York City skyline. The late lighting designer Paul Marantz (1938-2025) shared his story of Fisher Marantz Stone’s design and execution of how the Tribute came to be:
Related: Paul Marantz: 1938-2025
The Tribute in Light is an annual installation to honor the memory of those who were lost and as a symbol of the spirit of the great city of New York. The beams of light, located just south of the World Trade Center site, on the roof of the Battery Parking Garage, will turn on at dusk on 9/11 and continue throughout the night until the early hours of dawn. Visibility of the beams varies with the weather to up to a twenty-five mile radius. FMS collaborated with several artists and architects in the design of the Tribute in Light in 2002. Lighting designer Cosmo Wilson and his team revive the installation every year so that the columns of light pierce the sky from dusk to dawn in commemoration of 9/11.
The Tribute in Light consists of 88 vertical Space Canon Ireos Pro VHT 7000 Watt Xenon fixtures arranged in two columns of light creating beams in the sky to represent the Twin Towers. It stands six blocks south of the World Trade Center on top of the Battery Parking Garage. The Tribute in Light was conceived by artists John Bennett, Gustavo Bonevardi, Richard Nash Gould, Julian LaVerdiere, and Paul Myoda, and lighting consultant Paul Marantz.
