Vibrant colors light up historic Stone Bridge

October 19, 2011|Kecia Bal | Our Town Correspondent

The Stone Bridge is awash in lights during a ceremony.

Johnstown’s historic Stone Bridge has come into the light.

The colors of the LED lights can change, depending on time of year, holidays and special events.  They’ve already been blue and white for Rosh Hashanah, pink for breast cancer awareness and a fall scheme.  Soon, they could be black and gold for Pittsburgh Steelers home games.

The lights are being programmed for a 15-minute light-show at 7:30 p.m. before settling into the evening’s colored scheme.

“It really just blows you away,” said Mike Brosig, co-chairman of the Stone Bridge committee and master-of-ceremonies for the event. “The lights bring out the reveals on the bridge and the reflection on the water is beautiful.”

The Johnstown Area Heritage Association administered the initiative, which began in 2008.

More than 300 people attended the lighting ceremony at Point Park on Sept. 24, the culmination of years of fundraising for the $1.2 million project to restore and improve the bridge.

For years, community members had hoped to bring more attention to the bridge that held strong on May 31, 1889, when the Great Johnstown Flood decimated the community and claimed more than 2,000 lives.

Today, 50 trains cross the Stone Bridge daily, and more than 15,000 vehicles pass beneath its arches…