Post by jonsdigs on Jul 31, 2007 7:18:08 GMT -5
Lewis and Clark Caverns shed in new light
By MARGA LINCOLN
Helena Independent Record
07/31/07
George Lane IR staff photographer - Even with newly installed LED lighting, the 538-foot-long exit tunnel still has an eerie look.
High above the Jefferson River and tucked discreetly into the limestone depths of Cave Mountain lies a spectacular series of caverns.
The natural beauty of the Lewis and Clark Caverns has drawn visitors’ admiration for well over a century.
But now, newly installed LED full-spectrum lights further illuminate the subtle colors and intricate carvings of what is considered one of the most highly decorated caves in the Northwest.
She points out the subtle hues of red, orange and purple in the calcite columns of the Paradise Room.
“You could never see them before,” she said.
Park Manager Lynette Kemp, who started at the park as a tour guide in 1991, marvels at what the new lighting reveals.
George Lane IR staff photographer - This tour group stands in the Paradise Room and is learning all the fascinating details from tour guide, Carmen Uptmor, on the far right.
Previously, under the yellowish, hazy light of incandescent bulbs the colors were more beige and brown.
“The LED lighting gives a real sharp crispness to the formations. They stand out now with depth, light and shadow,” she said.
The park has invested $800,000 in its new lighting project so far, she said. It’s complete in a quarter of the caverns. Award-winning designer Frank Florentine of the Smithsonian Institution has completed the full lighting design for the caverns.
Kemp estimated an additional $1 million is needed to complete the project.
Each of the new lights in the cavern Paradise Room operates off its own computer software, and is part of a light show that gradually illuminates different features in the cavern.
Handrails studded with small LED bulbs now light some of the staircases, making steps much easier to see than they are in other parts of the cavern still illuminated by dim incandescent lighting.
Full Story
By MARGA LINCOLN
Helena Independent Record
07/31/07
George Lane IR staff photographer - Even with newly installed LED lighting, the 538-foot-long exit tunnel still has an eerie look.
High above the Jefferson River and tucked discreetly into the limestone depths of Cave Mountain lies a spectacular series of caverns.
The natural beauty of the Lewis and Clark Caverns has drawn visitors’ admiration for well over a century.
But now, newly installed LED full-spectrum lights further illuminate the subtle colors and intricate carvings of what is considered one of the most highly decorated caves in the Northwest.
She points out the subtle hues of red, orange and purple in the calcite columns of the Paradise Room.
“You could never see them before,” she said.
Park Manager Lynette Kemp, who started at the park as a tour guide in 1991, marvels at what the new lighting reveals.
George Lane IR staff photographer - This tour group stands in the Paradise Room and is learning all the fascinating details from tour guide, Carmen Uptmor, on the far right.
Previously, under the yellowish, hazy light of incandescent bulbs the colors were more beige and brown.
“The LED lighting gives a real sharp crispness to the formations. They stand out now with depth, light and shadow,” she said.
The park has invested $800,000 in its new lighting project so far, she said. It’s complete in a quarter of the caverns. Award-winning designer Frank Florentine of the Smithsonian Institution has completed the full lighting design for the caverns.
Kemp estimated an additional $1 million is needed to complete the project.
Each of the new lights in the cavern Paradise Room operates off its own computer software, and is part of a light show that gradually illuminates different features in the cavern.
Handrails studded with small LED bulbs now light some of the staircases, making steps much easier to see than they are in other parts of the cavern still illuminated by dim incandescent lighting.
Full Story