The Man Behind Seattle’s Great Wheel Light Displays
Gerry Hall’s LED designs are a glowing success
By Jennifer Meyers February 8, 2016
This article originally appeared in the February 2016 issue of Seattle magazine.
While it’s only been open for three short years, Seattle’s Great Wheel has become an iconic part of the city’s skyline—as have the 175-foot-tall attraction’s light displays, designed by Gerry Hall. “It was a void in the job that needed to be done, so I volunteered,” says the wheel’s general manager.
“If I can make my own light shows in downtown Seattle—hey, let’s run with it.” Hall learned his new skill via conference calls from the light system’s manufacturer. With a glass of wine in hand and Phish playing in the background, Hall designs most shows for the wheel from his Everett home on his laptop, using a remote lighting program. There are 40 rows of lights on each of the wheel’s 21 spokes for Hall to create his nightly shows, which often tie in with holidays, sporting events or other occasions. Some shows take just a few minutes to program, whereas more elaborate designs that include moving lights and color fades can take Hall more than 20 hours. Hall says he gets plenty of requests for specific themes—most often he’s asked to project the Seahawks and “12” logos. But with a limited number of spokes, there isn’t a way to produce very defined images.
“I would do the logo if I could; it’s not like I haven’t thought of that!” he says. “I love it when people email me ideas, but I’m kind of two steps ahead of [them] on that one.” Of course, not all of the work can be accomplished on land; Seattle’s infamous rain can seep into any of the 500,000 LED light blocks, forcing Hall to climb a 90-foot ladder to the center to replace them. But does he get nervous? “No,” he says. “Climbing this thing is like a big jungle gym.”
NEED TO KNOW
1/ The 39-year-old light enthusiast devotes so much time and energy to the wheel’s display, he does no holiday lighting whatsoever at his Everett home.
2/ Hall rides the wheel once or twice a day, both to enjoy the view and to inspect the structure.
3/ His greatest challenge so far was a live light show with local alternative band Vaudeville Etiquette that took him more than 50 hours to complete.
Follow Us
Nord-West Connection
Food for thought.
There has always been a strong connection between Seattle and the Nordic countries, and the National Nordic Museum’s current exhibition, New Nordic: Cuisine, Aesthetics and Place, is a visual reinforcement straight from Norway. A cross-disciplinary show exploring how New Nordic Cuisine—a culinary movement that developed in Scandinavia in the early 2000s that focuses on using…
Black History Month in Seattle
Events, landmarks, and businesses to support year-round.
Black pioneers first arrived in Seattle in the mid-19th century. The city’s earliest known African American resident was Manuel Lopes, who arrived in 1852 from Cabo Verde. A couple of decades later, African Americans began migrating to the Pacific Northwest from Southern states to work in coal mines. During this period, two Black enclaves began…
A New Year of Influence
Seattle magazine’s Most Influential list kicks off 2026 with leaders across the city.
New year, new issue! As we kick off 2026, Seattle magazine is proud to present this year’s cohort of the Most Influential list, which showcases local leaders in politics, philanthropy, arts, hospitality, and business. Determined, creative, empathetic, humble, and bold are just a few of the words you’ll see describing them—each one has achieved great…
The Queen of the Seattle World’s Fair
With a fur coat and gold Cadillac, Gracie Hansen struck a figure. Her business savvy and whip-smart humor made her a star.
In 1960, a group of well-attired men from the Seattle World’s Fair planning committee gathered in a downtown office. With the fair only two years away, people were starting to pitch their business ideas and on this day, some lady wanted to meet with them to do the same. At the scheduled time, the door…