The South Bay of Los Angeles is an amazing place!

Beside the beautiful beach cities sits another coastal gem. San Pedro is the heart of Los Angeles Harbor and is where I grew up. Since I was a kid, this place always felt like a small town, and it always felt like home. It seems everyone knows everyone in one way or another and many of its residents have been living here for generations.

My story isn’t much different

I came back home after college, not sure exactly what direction I was going. All I knew is I wanted to make a living where I could be creative while helping people.

I fell into lighting, many in our industry do, but I never knew that it would change my life the way it did.

I am one of the lucky ones who gets up everyday to do something I really love. Lighting inspires and invokes feeling in so many ways. Lighting brings tranquility, peace and beauty and I have seen first hand how lighting is good for the soul.

Much of what we do is for private eyes, lighting beautiful homes all throughout Southern California but every once in a while we are asked to do something spectacular for everyone to see. Lighting the entrance into the City of San Pedro was one if these times.

This city has seen a lot of change over the past decade or two. I remember when they first remodeled the city entrance by lining the center island with beautiful date palms. It screams Southern California and sets the stage as you come into town from the 110 Freeway.

The Project Was More Than Personal

In October of 2022, the City Council Office decided the center island needed a little facelift. This included a beautiful new drought tolerant succulent garden and a color changing lighting system to highlight the towering date palms. California Outdoor Lighting was contacted to help.

This was a special job for me personally. Now I am very proud of all the beautiful work the team and I have been able to create over the past 19 years. We have been fortunate enough to do some amazing things in gorgeous places. Each job is special in its own way but to light the entrance of town, a street that I drive almost every day, two times a day on the way to and from the office, means so much! I have no idea how many people actually see it everyday like I do, but I hope that it gives others the sense of pride for our town that I have.

Rewarding But Challenging

We were tasked to provide a system that could be controlled from anywhere. Another challenge was competing with all the ambient light from businesses lining both sides of the street.

The lighting system initially installed years back lacked the color saturation necessary to illuminate these beautiful trees and we needed to make sure that this time, the color would really pop! 14 watt well light from Haven Lighting were chosen and did not disappoint! The color saturation is vibrant and packs a lot of punch, even with all this white light flooding the area.

Task Accomplished

The City also loves the ease of control. Functionality was crucial since the calendar is packed with so many events. Decorating with color from an easy to use app really makes it convenient to bring attention to whatever might be happening at that moment.

They say when you enjoy what you do, you never work a day in your life. This couldn’t be any more true!