Lasers light San Francisco sky from Transamerica Pyramid to Coit Tower

Dozens of colored lasers cut across the San Francisco skyline Friday night, firing from the 47th floor of the Transamerica Pyramid toward Coit Tower and One Sansome Street and turning the Financial District’s most famous spire into a temporary beacon.

Illuminate said the installation used a dozen Laser Space Cannons and was scheduled to run from sunset to sunrise each night from Friday, May 15, through Sunday, May 17, 2026. The spectacle began around 8:30 p.m. Friday and used more than 1 kilowatt of high-powered, multicolor lasers to trace lines through the downtown air.

The display fits into a broader effort by the Transamerica Pyramid Center to activate the site after its major renovation and reopening, including new public art and a reimagined Transamerica Redwood Park at the tower’s base. Completed in 1972, the Transamerica Pyramid was San Francisco’s tallest building until Salesforce Tower overtook it in 2018, but it remains one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks and a fitting launch point for a project meant to be seen across neighborhoods, not just from the block below.

Illuminate has built its reputation on large-scale public art in San Francisco, including The Bay Lights on the western span of the San Francisco Bay Bridge, which debuted on March 5, 2013. The nonprofit says it has produced more than 750 free community shows in the city, a record it cites as evidence that its work is about public access as much as visual impact.

Ben Davis, Illuminate’s founder and chief visionary officer, said the group is developing a “new monumental art form” and said San Francisco is the only city in the world doing this kind of work. Steffen Franz, a producer with Illuminate, said the projects have brought vibrancy to public spaces. Pete O'Neil, a San Francisco resident, said the organization has brought energy to the city.

For San Francisco, the weekend show was more than a light display. It was another test of whether shared spectacles around the Transamerica Pyramid, the Bay Bridge and other civic landmarks can create lasting downtown momentum, or simply a bright, brief moment before the city turns back to business as usual.