You may not have noticed it, but last Saturday night was “Lights Out Long Beach”, an eco-friendly night when everyone was supposed to turn off all nonessential lights for one hour, and replace one incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent bulb. So it was only to expected that the Majic Wand wouldn’t be lighting up the night last Saturday. But what about the Saturday night before that? And the one before that?

The Majic Wand is supposed to be one of Long Beach’s premier works of public art, lighting up the sky over its Pine Square location and far beyond. The Arts Council of Long Beach’s website describes it this way:

Beckoning visitors to downtown Long Beach with lines of intense green light, the laser beams of the Majic Wand project from the theater marquee, are redirected by mirrors above Pine Avenue and extend north beyond the downtown area and south toward Catalina Island . This three dimensional light sculpture interacts with the city lights while reaching out far to sea.

As far as I can tell, it’s been a long time since the Majic Wand beckoned anyone. Neither District publisher Will Swaim nor I could find anyone who recalled the last time they saw the lasers over Pine Avenue.

So, what happened to the Majic Wand? Was its plugged pulled? And if so, why is it still listed by the Arts Council as a working example of the Public Arts Program?

Tags: Arts Council of Long Beach, lasers, Lights Out Long Beach, Majic Wand, Pine Square, public art, Public Arts Program, Rockne Krebs