Lumen and Forge maps West Virginia Capitol for America 250 celebration

Lumen and Forge completed a four-night projection mapping show on the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston for the state’s official America 250 celebration. The project turned Cass Gilbert’s 293-foot gold-leafed dome into a public storytelling canvas for tens of thousands of visitors.

Why it matters: - The Charleston show marked a high-stakes public use of projection mapping for America’s 250th anniversary. - The production showed how states can use light shows instead of fireworks at historic sites where fire risk, noise, and environmental concerns matter. - The Capitol project also underscored the scale of West Virginia’s official semiquincentennial programming.

What happened: - Lumen and Forge completed a four-night projection mapping production on the West Virginia State Capitol dome and façade in Charleston. - The show, titled “Liberty and Lights,” ran during the America250 Capital City Celebration from July 2 through July 5, 2026. - The marquee performance fell on Independence Day. - Shows ran between 9 and 10 p.m. each evening and repeated about every 15 minutes. - The schedule let tens of thousands of visitors see the show without crowding into one viewing window.

The details: - The Capitol was designed by Cass Gilbert, dedicated in June 1932, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. - The building’s 23-karat gold-leafed dome rises 293 feet above the Kanawha River. - The dome is about five feet taller than the U.S. Capitol dome and is the tallest state capitol dome in the country. - The structure uses Indiana limestone over a structural steel frame. - Gold leaf, curved surfaces, deep window recesses, the colonnaded drum and Corinthian porticos made projection mapping difficult. - The Capitol could not be rigged, anchored or physically altered. - Lumen and Forge surveyed the site months in advance with specialized drones to create a digital twin. - The team built, rendered and pre-visualized the show against a millimeter-accurate virtual model before placing projectors on the lawn. - The studio used Cinema 4D, AutoCAD, 3D Studio Max, Rhino and SketchUp to model sightlines, brightness, throw distances, blending zones and audience positions. - The content was written specifically for West Virginia rather than adapted from a generic patriotic show. - The narrative connected the nation’s founding story with West Virginia’s statehood, industry, landscapes and people. - State officials used projection displays on the Washington Monument as the benchmark for the Charleston production. - The Capitol event took place on a live public site shared with a 230-foot Ferris wheel, multiple concert stages and a festival midway. - The broader celebration included the America250 Wheel, a portable Ferris wheel with 45 gondolas. - The program also featured free concerts by ALABAMA, the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra and The Marshall Tucker Band. - Other elements included an official ceremony honoring Gold Star Families and veterans, historical exhibits, guided Capitol tours, artisan markets and fireworks. - The celebration coincided with Charleston’s Sternwheel Regatta. - Lumen and Forge said the project reflects more than 15 years of experience in architectural projection. - Past work includes projection mapping the Las Vegas Stratosphere twice, including a Tequila Don Julio 1942 bottle transformation for Super Bowl week and a McLaren and Mastercard activation during Formula 1 weekend. - Other projects include a Nike and Air Jordan full-building display in Salt Lake City, a world-record video game screen at the Tropicana, a blue tribute on the Hollywood Sign for the Dodgers’ World Series run, Texas Tech’s 100th anniversary celebration and a 60-foot geodesic dome for Travis Scott’s CactusCon at ComplexCon 2024. - Lumen and Forge’s clients include Nike, Toyota, Mastercard, Google, Microsoft, Meta, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Verizon, Dell, HP, Jeep, Jaguar, John Deere, Capital One, EA Sports, National Geographic, the U.S. Marine Corps, Meow Wolf, the Venetian and Luxor resorts. - The studio also designs and operates 360-degree dome environments, geodesic domes from 10 to 90 feet and inflatable structures up to 200 feet.

Between the lines: - The project highlights how public commemorations are shifting toward immersive storytelling that can be reused and re-themed. - For a state landmark with historic protections, projection mapping offers spectacle without permanent impact. - The technical complexity suggests that civic events are increasingly borrowing from the playbook of major brand activations and stadium-scale entertainment.

What's next: - The West Virginia show offers a template for future America 250 events at the state level. - Lumen and Forge says the model is historically grounded, locally authored, technically rigorous and free to the public. - As the nation moves through semiquincentennial observances, more states may adopt similar projection-based celebrations.