Olde Town Arvada Water Tower

Serving a vital function as the city’s water supply in 1910, the Olde Town Arvada Water Tower sits in the center of historic Arvada and is visible from the entire metro area. This area had undergone a recent transformation that included multi-housing, recreation, and night life. It also became a primary stop for the new light rail. As part of this revitalization, the city invested in a complete restoration of the historic water tower, including a new paint job and new lighting.

The tower’s previous 1500 quartz halogen floodlights had been under performing and, since the client made a significant investment to restore the water tower, they required a new lighting system that would showcase the iconic structure in the nighttime sky - for decades.

In addition to the efficiency, durability, and dynamic functionality provided by LEDs, an end-to-end, fully connected Color Kinetics lighting solution was selected because of its exceptional brand reputation and performance record. Color Kinetics Blast Powercore, RGBW OptiField luminaires spaced 1.8 m (6 ft) apart were mounted on the surrounding railing – which is located 1 m (3 ft) off the tank - on extendible mounting arms to achieve the 1.8 m (6 ft) distance required to provide the desired light coverage. Color Kinetics OptiField technology delivered uniform, saturated coverage over the full height of the tower.

Color Kinetics Light System Manager gen6 (now specified with iPlayer 4) enables the client to author, configure, and control light shows from ground level, eliminating the need for lifts when customizing colors for various events and occasions. The system is powered by Color Kinetics Data Enabler Pro.

The reliable, durable, and superb-quality color-changing lighting beautifully highlights the historic landmark and has realized over 8000 watts in energy savings. The previous 1500 quartz burners (6 pcs), consumed a total of 9000 watts, while the new Color Kinetics Blast fixtures (16 pcs) achieve a total system consumption of just under 1000 watts. The precisely controlled system is also designed to light only the tower, not the sky.

Completed in June 2019, the water tower is a permanent and dynamic part of the evening sky in the Denver Metro area.