Many prominent buildings and monuments have burst forth in a flood of light, and their beauty and symbolism have been appreciated at night by many persons who do not notice them by day.  Not only are the beautiful structures of man lighted permanently but many temporary effects are devised.  Artificial lighting effects have become a prominent part in outdoor festivals, pageants, and theatricals.  Candles have been associated with Christmas trees ever since the latter came into use and naturally artificial light has been a feature in the community Christmas trees which have come into vogue in recent years.  The Municipal Christmas Tree in Chicago in 1916 was ninety feet high and was lighted with projectors.  Thousands of gems taken from the Tower of Jewels at the San Francisco Exposition added life and sparkle to that of the other decorations.

[Illustration:  The Capitol flooded with light

Luna Park, Coney Island, studded with 60,000 incandescent
filament lamps

THE NEW FLOOD LIGHTING CONTRASTED WITH THE OLD OUTLINE LIGHTING]

[Illustration:  NIAGARA FALLS FLOODED WITH LIGHT]

After the close of the recent war artificial light played a prominent part throughout the country in the joyful festivals.  A jeweled arch erected in New York in honor of the returning soldiers rivaled some of the spectacles of the Panama-Pacific Exposition.  The arch hung like a gigantic curtain of jewels between two obelisks, which rose to a height of eighty feet and were surmounted by jeweled forms in the shape of sunbursts.  Approximately thirty thousand jewels glittered in the beams of batteries of arc-projectors.  Many of the signs and devices which played a part in the “Welcome Home” movement were of striking nature and of a character to indicate permanency.  The equipment of a large building consisted of more than five thousand 10-watt lamps, the entire building being outlined with stars consisting of eleven lamps each.  The “Brighten Up” campaign spread throughout the country.  The lighting and installation of signs and special patriotic displays, the flooding of streets and shop-windows with light without stint, produced an inspiring and uplifting effect which did much to restore cheerfulness and optimism.  A glowing example was set in Washington, where the flood-lighting of the Capitol, discontinued shortly after our entrance into the war, was resumed.

In Chicago a “Victory Way” was established, with street-lighting posts on both sides of the street equipped with red, white, and blue globes surmounted by a golden goddess of Victory.  One hundred and seventy-five projectors were installed along the way on the roofs and in the windows of office buildings.  A brilliant, scintillating “Altar of Victory” was erected at the center of the Way.  It was composed of two enormous candelabra erected one on each side of a platform ninety feet high.  These were studded with jewels and supported a curtain of