While initial plans for an onstage debut during the July 14 Friday Night on White (FNOW) were eventually reconsidered, many of the thousands in attendance no doubt noticed that most of Wake Forest’s Downtown Historic District burned brighter than usual that evening.
Thanks to the vision of property owners Bob and Elizabeth Johnson and the work performed by local electrician Brian Lassiter, new strings of bright LED lights are now illuminating the tops of the 12 buildings the Johnson family owns in the historic core.
Together with the cooperation of a few municipal officials, volunteers, and friends – pressed into service to walk the length of White Street on July 10 – flipping numerous switches, checking sensors, and looking up and around to ensure every string of weather-proof, tube-encased lights illuminated as hoped – Downtown is now an even brighter and better place to be for future FNOW gatherings and every night of the year.
As the days grow shorter, Wake Forest has taken the next step to enhance and make the best use of space and structure, shining a brighter light on its growing selection of fine establishments set amid a charming and impeccably designed Downtown streetscape.
With more and more clean, well-lit places – from Lumpy’s Ice Cream, Freddy's Bottle Shop and Norse Brewing, Black and White, The Forks and The Renaissance Center, Strike and Barrel, Page 158 and Over the Falls, to Plant Cakes and The Cotton Company, George's to B&W Hardware, White Street Brewing to Shorty's, Tonic, and Wake Forest Coffee, The Burger Shop, Las Margaritas, and the Lemon Tree, to Sugar Magnolia and UnWined to White Street Boutique and Bodega, Play4Life – and one-day Broadsides and Brews – there is absolutely no shortage of outstanding shops and eateries to patronize. More are on the way as well, sure to increase the cool and quaint look and feel patrons experience when Downtown.
Johnson wanted to install lights on his buildings a few years ago, but said few took advantage of what he was offering. But now that the cooperative and collective vision of Downtown is taking further shape, with new and existing businesses thriving, the timing was better to go forward with the $25,000 project.
"Downtown is in an exciting place in its evolution. We are well on our way to becoming an ‘18-hour Downtown,’ where Wake Forest’s core has something to offer everyone from dawn through the night,” Johnson said, “This lets us do our part toward that goal.”
The project would have commenced 3-4 months sooner, he said, if not for supply chain issues when only multi-colored lights were available for a time. These more fitting and cost-efficient bulbs will now illuminate automatically every night, lighting the way forward.
"We're very grateful for this contribution to Downtown," said Jason Cannon, President of the Wake Forest Business & Industry Partnership. "It makes a tangible addition to the special quality of place that visitors to Downtown experience. These lights also provide a greater aesthetic and an enhanced sense of security – and spotlights the amazing merchants, people, and places that make Downtown the unique environment it is today.”
Cannon sums it up well: “This is just one more way to exhibit the incredibly bright future ahead for Wake Forest.”
