A gigantic birthday candle was projected onto the Washington Monument this New Year’s Eve as fireworks dazzled the night sky, part of a six-day art installation to salute the country’s upcoming celebration of its 250th year.
The light displays — free and open to the public, with viewing available throughout the National Mall — will run nightly through Monday with projections depicting “the story of America’s journey,” according to organizers at Freedom 250, a group unveiled by President Donald Trump in December to help carry out his vision for “the most spectacular birthday the world has ever seen.”
The monument has hosted a projection show only once before, when it was illuminated in 2019 with a rocket commissioned by the National Air and Space Museum to mark the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
The New Year’s Eve light show was set to end just after midnight. On subsequent nights, projections will run from 7 to 10 p.m., transforming the monument into a colorful canvas of sorts. No tickets are required.
“The illumination of the Washington Monument marks the beginning of a momentous year for our nation — 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence,” Keith Krach, the CEO of Freedom 250 who served as a senior State Department official during Trump’s first term, said in a statement. “We invite every American — and every friend of America — to join this historic celebration of the triumph of the American spirit.”
Freedom 250 organizers said there will be 25-minute projection displays recurring at the top of each hour each night, cycling through five themed segments: “Discovery; Revolution (Independence); Westward Expansion; the Industrial Revolution and the 20th Century; and Modern Day and the Future of the Nation.”
Some of the projections are computer-generated, and other images came from the Library of Congress and National Archives, such as handwritten notes by inventor Thomas Edison, according to Freedom 250.
The 250-foot candle, specifically appeared from 11:55 p.m. Wednesday until shortly after midnight.
Planning for the country’s 250th had been underway long before Trump returned to the Oval Office, with Congress establishing the bipartisan U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission in 2016.
Trump seized on the occasion.
The week after his inauguration, he established a White House task force for birthday planning and positioned himself as chair. Last June, on the Army’s 250th birthday and Trump’s 79th, the city hosted a military parade, with dozens of tanks rolling down Pennsylvania Avenue and millions of people from across the country showing up to watch or flood the streets in protest.
Congress authorized the Washington Monument displays on Nov. 20, and Trump signed the law Dec. 2. Test projections are underway, with passersby in recent days spotting the monument aglow against the night sky.
The light display kicks off a year of events on the National Mall to mark the nation’s 250th, including a prayer service in the spring and a two-week fair in the summer.
“We will renew the patriotism, pride and pioneering spirit of America,” the president said earlier this month, “and lay the groundwork for the next 250 years.”
Kadia Goba contributed to this report.
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