Lumen and Forge maps West Virginia Capitol for America250 celebration

Lumen and Forge completed a four-night projection mapping show on the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston for the state’s official America250 celebration. The July 2-5 installation turned Cass Gilbert’s 293-foot gold-leafed dome into a public canvas for history, culture and civic spectacle.

Why it matters: - The Charleston project shows how states are using projection mapping to mark major civic milestones without fire risk, physical contact or permanent changes to historic sites. - The show gave West Virginia a free, large-scale centerpiece for America’s 250th anniversary celebrations. - The production also offers a model for future semiquincentennial events at heritage landmarks.

What happened: - Lumen and Forge completed a four-night projection mapping show called "Liberty and Lights" on the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston. - The installation ran nightly from July 2 through July 5, 2026, during the America250 Capital City Celebration on the Capitol Complex grounds. - The marquee performance took place on Independence Day. - Shows ran between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. and repeated about every 15 minutes. - The repeated schedule was designed to serve tens of thousands of visitors moving through the grounds.

The details: - The West Virginia State Capitol was designed by Cass Gilbert and dedicated in June 1932. - The building is faced in Indiana limestone, built on a structural steel frame, and topped with a 23-karat gold-leafed dome. - The dome rises 293 feet above the Kanawha River, stands about five feet taller than the U.S. Capitol dome, and is the tallest state capitol dome in the country. - The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. - The Capitol’s gold leaf, curved surfaces, colonnaded drum, deep window recesses and Corinthian porticos created difficult projection conditions. - The historic structure allowed no rigging, no anchoring and no physical alteration. - Lumen and Forge began surveying the site months ahead of the event with specialized drones to create a digital twin of the Capitol Complex. - The studio used that model to design and pre-visualize every frame before any projector was placed on the lawn. - The team validated sightlines, brightness, throw distances, blending zones and audience positioning in a 3D environment. - The production workflow included Cinema 4D, AutoCAD, 3D Studio Max, Rhino and SketchUp. - The show was written specifically for West Virginia instead of adapting generic patriotic content. - The narrative tied the nation’s founding story to West Virginia’s statehood, industry, landscapes and people. - The Capitol is widely known in the state as "The People’s Building." - State officials had pointed to projection displays on the Washington Monument as the benchmark for the Charleston show. - The event took place on a live public site shared with a 230-foot Ferris wheel, concert stages and a festival midway. - The Capital City Celebration also featured the America250 Wheel, described as the world’s tallest portable Ferris wheel, with 45 gondolas representing each U.S. president. - Other programming included free concerts by ALABAMA, the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra and The Marshall Tucker Band. - The celebration included an official ceremony honoring Gold Star Families and veterans, historical exhibits, guided Capitol tours, artisan markets and fireworks. - The event coincided with Charleston’s Sternwheel Regatta.

Between the lines: - The project underscores a shift in public commemorations toward programmable light-based spectacles at sensitive landmarks. - That approach can preserve historic surfaces while still creating a major public draw. - The Charleston commission also extends Lumen and Forge’s profile in the architectural projection market. - The studio has more than 15 years of industry experience. - Previous work includes projection mapping the Las Vegas Stratosphere twice, including a Tequila Don Julio 1942 bottle transformation for Super Bowl week and a Panasonic-driven McLaren and Mastercard activation during Formula 1 weekend. - Other credits include a Nike and Air Jordan projection in Salt Lake City during 2023 NBA All-Star Week, a world-record video game screen at the Tropicana, a blue tribute on the Hollywood Sign’s "D" for the Dodgers’ World Series run, the Texas Tech 100th anniversary celebration and a 60-foot geodesic dome for Travis Scott’s CactusCon at ComplexCon 2024. - Lumen and Forge’s client list includes Nike, Toyota, Mastercard, Google, Microsoft, Meta, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Verizon, Dell, HP, Jeep, Jaguar, John Deere, Capital One, EA Sports, National Geographic, the United States Marine Corps, Meow Wolf, and the Venetian and Luxor resorts. - The studio also builds and operates 360-degree dome environments, geodesic domes from 10 to 90 feet, and inflatable structures up to 200 feet.

What’s next: - The Charleston project may serve as a template for other state-level America250 celebrations. - Lumen and Forge says the format can be re-programmed, re-themed and re-staged for future anniversaries. - More public commemorations are likely to blend history, technology and crowd-friendly programming as the nation moves through semiquincentennial observances.

The bottom line: - "Liberty and Lights" turned one of the nation’s most iconic state capitols into a large-scale civic screen, pairing preservation-friendly technology with a locally tailored America250 story.