BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The Bethlehem star is shining a bit brighter.
About 900 feet above sea level, the nearly 100-foot-high beacon atop South Mountain now sports 238 brand-new LED bulbs, according to Bethlehem Electrical Bureau Chief Greg Cryder.
They were replaced in April, Cryder said.
"When that thing goes on, we wanted ‘Pow! Look at the Star! Bang!’”Bethlehem Electrical Bureau Chief Greg Cryder
It also was time to clean the bulb interiors, he said, which build up a kind of film over time that affects the sharpness of the lights.
“It was in really good condition beforehand,” Cryder said, adding the week of April 21 marked the first bulb replacement in 15 years.
“There were a few bulbs out, but it was so big and whatever, you didn’t really notice it.
“It is brighter now. When that thing goes on, we wanted ‘Pow! Look at the star! Bang!’”
He said he’ll be retired by the time the 100,000-hour bulbs shining from dusk to dawn each day likely will need replacing again.
A cost, and a savings
Paid for out of the city’s annual holiday decoration allocations, the bulbs ran $3,332, and renting a 110-foot manlift cost $4,800, Cryder said.
His team even bumped the wattage from 5.5 watts per bulb up to 7 in the recent switch.
He said changing from incandescent bulbs to LEDs at the star in 2010 has resulted in a 75% monthly savings on electric bills, so the newest replacement will pay for itself in less than four years.
The older incandescent bulbs also required a crew and lift to head up the mountain for replacement every other year, he said.
Cryder gave a shout-out to Public Works Director Michael Alkhal and the rest of the city team involved in the operation.
A guiding light
The star is a reference to the biblical Gospel of Matthew, which says three wise men found their way to Bethlehem, south of Jerusalem, for the birth of Jesus Christ by following a bright light in the sky.
An excerpt from the Bethlehem By Night bus tour by Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites says its five points reference the community’s impact on music, education, religion, recreation and industry.
The original star on South Mountain, affixed to wooden boards, went up around 1937 and was a bit smaller, featuring 50-watt lamps arranged in six stripes.
It’s grown in size a couple of times since then.
A Morning Call newspaper clipping from Dec. 16, 1939, highlighting a ceremony for the star, said a $5,000 upgrade included a new steel frame.
Marion Brown Grace, wife of then-president of Bethlehem Steel Corp. Eugene Grace, flipped the lights on for the occasion.
The clipping says it was “said to be the tallest individual electrical display in the world” at that time.
Focal point of Christmas City USA
The mountaintop star played a key role in Bethlehem’s push to be designated as “Christmas City USA” amid the Great Depression.
The only time it’s said to have not been shining was a four-year blackout during World War II following the 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor.
It’s not to be mistaken for the Moravian star — a 26-pointed figure first presented in the early 19th century to help students of the Moravian Boys’ School in Niesky, Germany, better understand geometry, according to a display at the Whitefield House Museum in Nazareth.
