Bridge’s ‘Bay Lights’ go dark as fundraising continues

Ben Davis, founder of the nonprofit Illuminate.

With hours before the LED lights on the Bay Bridge turned off Sunday, fundraisers received $58,000 in donations from the public — a tiny fraction of their $1 million goal to help sustain the deteriorating art installation.

But fundraising by a nonprofit group will continue. And the larger effort to raise $11 million has made bigger strides, organizers said, with $6 million pledged from a small number of wealthy donors.

The 1.8-mile installation went dark at 8 p.m. Sunday after a decade illuminating the bridge's western span.

The lights were in need of replacement, with bald patches where long stretches have failed, according to Illuminate, the nonprofit that created the installation and spearheaded fundraising efforts.

"After 10 beautiful years, the Bay Lights are now dark," Illuminate wrote late Sunday on its social media pages, where it posted a video of the event.

The nonprofit announced in January that its decade-old installation, designed by artist Leo Villareal, would turn off Sunday until it could raise $11 million to install new LEDs better equipped to handle the region's blustery weather. Nonprofit director Ben Davis told The Chronicle at the time that he hoped to raise $1 million apiece from 10 wealthy people — $6 million has been pledged so far — plus an additional $1 million in small donations.

The crowdfunding campaign had raised almost $8,000 as of Friday evening, with an additional $50,000 rolling in over the weekend, tallies showed.

Organizers said fundraising from the public began on Saturday and they were pleased with progress so far.

The nonprofit said it could take months to raise enough money to install a new display.

Editor's note: This story was corrected to reflect the ongoing status of the fundraiser.

Reach Nora Mishanec: [email protected]