LMG Lights Up the Washington Monument

For LMG, being selected to projection map the Washington Monument on New Year’s Eve meant transforming one of the most recognizable structures in the world into a four-sided canvas visible across Washington, D.C. 

Early research revealed that previous projections had only ever covered a single face of the monument. This project would require more. 

“From the beginning, the idea was to projection map the Washington Monument from all four sides, which hasn’t been done before,” says Patrick Verhey of LMG Systems Innovation. “So we were the first ones.”

A First-of-Its-Kind Canvas

Standing more than 550 feet tall and visible from nearly anywhere in the city, the monument leaves no room for error. “Everything we do there will be visible across the entire city,” Patrick says. “There was no hiding.” 

The monument’s geometry added another layer of complexity. Distances shift from base to peak, and measurements vary depending on orientation. 

“I’ve never done so much math in my life for a particular project,” says Jayson Wise, Director of Video Systems at LMG. “We had to know the height, the angles, the distances. One little number being off changes your projection angle, your lensing, everything.”

Engineering at Monument Scale

Extensive research and a long site survey informed projector placement, lens selection, and coverage from the base of the monument to the top.

In total, LMG deployed 40 Barco UDX-4K40 projectors, with primary and backup units on every side to ensure uninterrupted coverage. The projection system was driven by a Ross Vertex media server ecosystem, deployed across eight decentralized playout computers and control locations surrounding the monument.

“The projectors only get roughly into position. The precise alignment comes out of the media server system. That’s where everything lines up and becomes one image.”

At showtime, the entire system came together in a single, synchronized moment.

“At the end of the day, it was literally one button. Press play, and everything happened.”

Execution in the Elements

Severe weather conditions in D.C. tested both equipment and endurance.

“We probably had gusts up to 45 miles an hour, temperatures around 32 degrees, and a wind chill around 14. Pretty brutal conditions,” Jayson recalls. “I really have to give it to the crew because they stuck with it.”

What carried the project through was the experience and resilience of the team on the ground, including head projectionist Phil Licari, who celebrated his 20th anniversary with LMG during the project.

“Everybody who was on site is capable of what they’re doing. Everybody knew what to do, was prepared, and was working tirelessly to get this all together. It was a really good team effort,” Patrick recalls.