Once dubbed “The Bridge to Nowhere,” Milwaukee’s Hoan Bridge now connects thousands of people every day and is an iconic landmark in our city.
The Hoan symbolizes an opportunity to bridge people, catalyze the next generation of leaders and create a point of pride for Milwaukee and its residents. Soon, there will be a new symbolism added to it: lights.
A new campaign, Light the Hoan, is using crowdsourcing to illuminate the bridge, bulb by bulb.
The Hoan Bridge is just the beginning, according to the organization:
"If we can activate young leaders to change our city’s skyline, we create a framework for how we can work together to solve our city’s challenges. Lighting the Hoan will serve as a nightly reminder: if we can come together to change our skyline, what else can we do for Milwaukee?"
So, who are these people who want to Light the Hoan? It's a new grassroots campaign that was created by a small group of Milwaukee professionals.
They say this could be our generation's "Calatrava." But, the success of the new "bridge of the people" is very much up to the people of Milwaukee.
Through crowdfunding, combined with gifts from local foundations, companies and individual philanthropists, Light the Hoan plans to sell lights on the bridge that can be dedicated to an individual or a cause. For $25, you can dedicate a bulb, especially to honor "the countless unseen or under-celebrated acts of kindness, generosity and service that give our city hope," and have a tribute displayed on Light the Hoan's interactive website.
The bridge itself will also be interactive. The lights we be able to be programmed to “dance” to synchronized music (like the local music played on 88Nine!) or to display certain colors (like the Bucks' team colors on game nights).
Milwaukee's future is bright. And, by August 2019, we could be looking at a brighter skyline that symbolizes that future with the new Hoan Bridge.