Luxor to emerge from darkness New Year’s Eve

Bob Shemeligian

Friday, Dec. 26, 1997 | 10:50 a.m.

When it was constructed four years ago, Luxor was lauded as an architectural marvel and a Strip landmark -- by day.

At night, there was far less fanfare. That's because the 30-story black pyramid seemed to disappear into the darkness.

Indeed, some Luxor workers laugh as they recount stories about tourists marveling at the Luxor's powerful beam of light emitted from the apex, but because the hotel itself is so difficult to see at night, the tourists believe the light comes from the next-door, brightly-colored Excalibur.

Beginning New Year's Eve, Luxor's nocturnal reputation will change for the brighter.

"The hotel will not be dark any longer. It will not disappear at night," said Norman Lamb of Bee Engineering in Las Vegas, who is coordinating a $1 million lighting project that will bring a sparkle to the pyramid.

For the past two months, Lamb and his crew have been installing a computer controlled light and sound system to the four outside edges of the massive structure.

Four years in research and development, the Starlight Lighting System is comprised of 3,000 strobes, 4,000 circuit boards and 2,000 computer chips to illuminate the Luxor.

The lighting system is comprised of 5-foot-long lighting cylinders that are plugged into each other and run up all four corners of Luxor. Each cylinder contains several strobe lights as well as circuit boards to guide operation.

"The structure is 440 feet tall, but because the sides run up at an angle, each edge is 556 feet log," Lamb said. "That means we need to use 108 cylinders on each corner."

The lighting system that runs up the pyramid, and sound system installed just outside the structure at ground level, are connected to integrated computer systems. The command center is on the 30th floor.

"It will be set on a timer, so that the system will operate automatically," Lamb said. "We're setting programs for 150 special effects designs that will be used for different occasions."

Bee Engineering, the same firm that designed the mechanical squeegee apparatus used to clean Luxor's exterior windows, designed and installed break-away brackets to hold the cylinders into place along the corners of the building. If any pressure is exerted on the brackets, the cylinders pop out and then dangle from their electrical chords like a pocket watch suspended from its chain.

"We designed it that way, so that the system is easily repairable, if something -- like the window washing system -- strikes one of the cylinders," Lamb said. "All you would have to do is snap the bracket back into place."

Installation of the lighting system has progressed slowly and tediously in recent weeks, often hampered by high winds and inclement weather.

David Tempongko, 37-year-old owner of the company, said his crews are working around the clock to prepare for the New Year's completion date.

At midnight on New Year's Eve, the switch will be thrown, illuminating the lighting system 120 times brighter than neon, and will forever change the nighttime perception of Luxor.

"The effect is going to be astounding," Tempongko said. "There's never been anything like it before."

Lamb explained that with the computer system guiding the light and sound package, it will make the Luxor seem to come alive at night.

"We can make the whole pyramid rock to the sound of 'Jingle Bells,' " Lamb said. "We can make each corner put on light shows to different songs. With this system, we can do anything we want to do."

The lighting ceremony will include fireworks and is expected to be a major Strip New Year's Eve attraction.

The ceremony will also mark the end of the recent two-year $400 million renovation project at Luxor. Also on New Year's Eve, the final touch to the renovation project will be completed with the planned opening of Ra, Luxor's Egyptian-themed nightclub.

Once the lighting project is completed, and if works, will Tempongko and his crew ever be able to match their success?

"Sure," Tempongko replied. "We're in negotiations with authorities over a plan to install a computer-controlled lighting system on the Eiffel Tower in Paris."

Tempongko was speaking about the city in France, rather than the South Strip casino under construction by Hilton Hotels. However, Hilton is also considering installing a Starlight Lighting System on the scale model of the famous Paris landmark.

"That way we'd have both Eiffel Towers covered," Tempongko said with a bright smile.