Sutter’s Fort Lighting Case Study

June 12th, 2025

Objective

Sutter’s Fort is a premier destination as a state park with historical significance in Sacramento. However, low lighting during the evening hours discouraged continued foot traffic and productive activity in the area. With over 7K nearby residents, 82K annual visitors, several businesses—including two hotels—and the adjacent Sutter Health campus, there is great potential for the park to serve as an amenity for the surrounding community, offering ample opportunities for community connection throughout both the day and night.

In 2022, as part of Midtown Parks’ broader initiative to enhance the vibrancy of Midtown’s parks through investments in lighting, art, events, and other public space improvements, phase 1 of an exterior lighting project was installed along the walls of Sutter’s Fort. This project aimed to increase visibility, improve safety during evening hours, and encourage greater use of the park by residents, employees, and visitors—ultimately supporting a more connected and active community. Sponsors and partners for the Sutter’s Fort Lighting installation included Midtown Parks, Sutter Health, California State Parks, SMUD, Hume Development, and Sestak Lighting Design.

In addition, these lights were designed with a color-changing feature, allowing for dynamic and visually impactful displays. By programming the lights with colors associated with specific awareness days or celebrations, Sutter’s Fort plays a part in raising awareness for various cultural, health, and community themes, engaging the many residents, workers, and visitors who pass by Sutter’s Fort each evening.

From left to right, the following lighting acknowledgements are displayed: Asian American and Pacific Islander Month, Earth Day, and Black History Month.

Our Strategy

In 2020, the installation of LED lighting at the Fort was adopted into Midtown Parks’ strategic plan. Midtown Parks secured $65K in funding and identified Michael Sestak with Sestak Lighting Design to serve as the lighting specialist. Through planning sessions, the project was broken down into two phases: phase one focusing on the exterior facing walls of the Fort structure itself and phase two focusing on the State Indian Museum and pond area. Project partners explored various options for the lighting and mounting while taking into special consideration the historic nature of the fort and the intent to cause minimal impact by the project, both visually and structurally.

The contractor selection and installation process took place throughout 2022, with phase 1 of the project being completed in November 2022.

John Fraser from California State Parks does a media segment to promote the rainbow lights in celebration of Sacramento Pride Weekend.

The Results