
Ray Grenald, lighting architect of Boathouse Row
His idea was to outline the 19th century boathouses that make up Boathouse Row with as few strokes as possible. “I call it the negligee effect,” he told me. “A naked woman is not as appealing as one wearing a negligee. I wanted to do that with the lights.”
Back when the lights first came on, they were incandescent– the ones that twinkled –adding even more magic to the Row. Grenald is disappointed by today’s LED lights, now attached to every architectural feature of the houses, with little left to the imagination.
But his vision made Boathouse Row one of the most photographed sites in Philadelphia, giving the city a new and vibrant image both here and abroad.
And that vision went viral last night as the lights began to be lit in blue for the festival of Hanukkah.

Hanukkah on Boathouse Row. Photo by Steven M. Falk, Philadelphia Inquirer
Keep an eye on them this week as, like the candles of the holiday, an additional boathouse is lit in blue each night.
Thanks, Ray!!