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 dome and façade in Charleston for the state’s official America250 celebration. The July 2-5 installation, built specifically for West Virginia, joined a wider festival that drew tens of thousands and showed how states are using projection for large public commemorations.

Why it matters: - The Charleston project turned a historic state capitol into a free public centerpiece for America’s 250th anniversary. - The installation showed how projection mapping can replace or supplement fireworks at sensitive sites where fire risk, noise, and residue are concerns. - The work gave West Virginia a locally authored commemoration that mixed national history with state identity.

What happened: - Lumen and Forge completed a four-night projection mapping production called "Liberty and Lights" on the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston. - The show ran nightly from July 2 through July 5, 2026, during the state’s America250 Capital City Celebration. - The marquee performance landed on Independence Day. - Shows played between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. each night and repeated about every 15 minutes. - The format let tens of thousands of visitors see the full narrative without crowding one viewing window.

The details: - The West Virginia State Capitol was designed by Cass Gilbert and dedicated in June 1932. - The building is faced in Indiana limestone, framed in structural steel, and topped with a 23-karat gold-leaf dome. - The dome rises 293 feet above the Kanawha River and is roughly five feet taller than the dome of the U.S. Capitol. - The Capitol is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. - Gold leaf, curved surfaces, a colonnaded drum, deep window recesses, and Corinthian porticos made the building difficult to map. - The protected structure allowed no rigging, anchoring, or physical alteration. - Lumen and Forge began surveying months ahead of the event. - Specialized drones photographed sections of the Capitol Complex to build a digital twin of the building. - The team designed every frame against a millimeter-accurate virtual model before positioning projectors on the lawn. - The studio used 3D event planning and tools including Cinema 4D, AutoCAD, 3D Studio Max, Rhino, and SketchUp to test sightlines, brightness, throw distances, blending zones, and audience placement. - The show was written specifically for West Virginia, with content that connected the nation’s founding story to the state’s history, industry, landscapes, and people. - State officials used projection displays on the Washington Monument as the benchmark for the Charleston production. - The Capitol show had to work on a live public site shared with a 230-foot Ferris wheel, multiple concert stages, and a festival midway. - The broader Capital City Celebration included the America250 Wheel, billed as the world’s tallest portable Ferris wheel, with 45 gondolas representing the 45 U.S. presidents. - The celebration also included free concerts by ALABAMA, the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, and The Marshall Tucker Band, plus an official ceremony honoring Gold Star Families and veterans, historical exhibits, guided Capitol tours, artisan markets, and fireworks. - The event overlapped with Charleston’s Sternwheel Regatta and drew visitors from across West Virginia and beyond.

Between the lines: - The project fits a broader shift in civic commemoration toward projection-based events that can be re-themed and reused for future anniversaries. - Lumen and Forge’s approach depends on heavy preproduction, which matters when the canvas is a landmark and the date is fixed. - The scale of the Capitol, the festival, and the national milestone made the production both a technical test and a public-facing civic statement.

What's next: - The Charleston production offers a template for state-level semiquincentennial events over the next several years. - Lumen and Forge is likely to continue positioning itself for large architectural projection work on landmark buildings and public sites. - The company’s broader capabilities include 360-degree dome projection environments, geodesic domes from 10 to 90 feet, and inflatable structures up to 200 feet. - Lumen and Forge handles design, engineering, content creation, installation, show operation, and strike as an integrated service.

The bottom line: - West Virginia’s Capitol show was both a celebration and a proof point: projection mapping can deliver a high-impact public spectacle without touching a historic building.