The Chandelier at San Diego Civic Theatre

San Diego Civic Theatre Chandelier

Samantha Goh

Printed IssueSubscribe and get 1 year for $18

The stage isn’t the only place that needs good lighting. At the San Diego Civic Theatre, 52,000 Bavarian crystals sparkle on the massive chandelier that sits above the Grand Salon. Shortly after the theater’s opening in 1966, donors raised $36,000 to pay for the 2,800-pound light fixture.

Even its cleaning process is grand: workers from the San Diego Theatres engineering team climb 25 feet up a ladder to replace every one of the 186 LEDs and polish each piece of crystal by hand with paper towels and deionized water. That happens every three years and can take up to a week to complete.

The centerpiece has welcomed theatergoers to over 5,000 shows. Shine on!