Sutter’s Fort is a premier destination with historical significance in Sacramento featuring beautiful open space and trails with walking paths in and along the six block perimeter. However, activity around the fort typically wanes into the evening hours due to low lighting, which has had the tendency to invite unwanted behavior and increase the need for enforcement activity. With over 7K nearby residents, several development projects recently completed or under way-including two hotels-and the adjacent Sutter Health campus, there is great potential to serve as an amenity for the surrounding community throughout the day and well into the evening, offering opportunities for community connection and fitness activities.
Through planning efforts with State Parks, lighting at Sutter’s Fort was identified as a top need for the fort. In 2020, the installation of LED lighting at the fort was adopted into Midtown Parks’ strategic plan, with the goal of increasing visibility and security in the surrounding park and highlighting the historic structure, all while encouraging additional park use and activation in the early evening hours.
Midtown Parks subsequently fundraised and secured $65K in funding from Hume Development, Midtown Association, SMUD, and Sutter Health. The team identified Michael Sestak with Sestak Lighting Design, who has a strong track record and history of working with historic buildings to serve as the lighting specialist.
The exterior walls of the fort contain 108 LED downlights that can change from white to any color desired. The interior walls are also bathed in light with 92 LED downlights that can change color when desired. The lighting system is cloud based and can be controlled remotely through secure protocols.
