Sylvan Shemitz
Encyclopedia
Sylvan R. Shemitz known simply to friends as Sy, was an American lighting designer
best known for his work on Grand Central Terminal
in New York City
and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C.
in 1925. Shemitz served in the U.S. Navy during World War II
. He went on to complete his education at the University of Pennsylvania
and the Wharton School. His work with higher education continued throughout his life. Sylvan was a fellow
at the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America
and taught as a visiting lecturer at a number of schools including Yale University
, the Rhode Island School of Design
and Princeton University
.
He was described as an avid boater and yacht
racer. Shemitz completed the race from Newport, Rhode Island
to Bermuda
on twelve different occasions. He also ran numerous yacht races throughout the Long Island Sound
on his beloved boat "Light Fantastic".
, IBM
and Crowley Maritime
.
Sylvan Shemitz also held several patent
s for a number of innovations regarding asymmetric lighting, which he marketed under the Elliptipar brand name.
Asymmetrical lighting is used in a variety famous public buildings including the New York Public Library
, the Steven Holl
-designed Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
in Kansas City, Missouri
, and the grand concourse at Las Vegas
' Venetian Hotel.
in Manhattan
. He used "blue filtered tints" and magenta colored lighting to accent the exterior façade
architectural elements of Grand Central. He explained his reasoning for his choice of colors in a 1991 interview with the New York Times, "I think the most important issue is to make New York a lively, friendly and joyful place." He is also well known for his work on the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Sylvan Shemitz worked very closely with the important design architects whose buildings he illuminated. For example, according to the New York Times, Shemitz worked with architect Helmut Jahn "to create a glowing glass shed intended as a modern take on a grand European rail station" at the United Airlines terminal at O'Hare International Airport
in Chicago, Illinois.
Shemitz's other projects in his portfolio
included the Toronto
's CN Tower
, the Yale University
's Lillian Goldman Law Library
, and the Schneider Children’s Medical Center in Israel
.
Shemitz was chief executive at the Sylvan R. Shemitz Designs, a lighting manufacturer based in New Haven, CT, that he founded in 1963.
in the boat, the Light Fantastic. He was 82 years old. Shemitz was survived by his wife, Paula Shemitz, three daughters, and two granddaughters. He and his wife were residents of Woodbridge, Connecticut
.
Lighting designer
The role of the lighting designer within theatre is to work with the director, choreographer, set designer, costume designer, and sound designer to create an overall 'look' for the show in response to the text, while keeping in mind issues of visibility, safety and cost...
best known for his work on Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal —often incorrectly called Grand Central Station, or shortened to simply Grand Central—is a terminal station at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C.
Personal life
Shemitz was born in New Haven, ConnecticutNew Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
in 1925. Shemitz served in the U.S. Navy during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He went on to complete his education at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
and the Wharton School. His work with higher education continued throughout his life. Sylvan was a fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
at the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America
Illuminating Engineering Society of North America
The Illuminating Engineering Society of North America is a non-profit learned society that was founded in New York City on January 10, 1906. The IES's stated mission is to improve the lighted environment by bringing together those with lighting knowledge and by translating that knowledge into...
and taught as a visiting lecturer at a number of schools including Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, the Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design is a fine arts and design college located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877. Located at the base of College Hill, the RISD campus is contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources and...
and Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
.
He was described as an avid boater and yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
racer. Shemitz completed the race from Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
to Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
on twelve different occasions. He also ran numerous yacht races throughout the Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...
on his beloved boat "Light Fantastic".
Innovations
Shemitz invented a type of "ambient office lighting" called Tambient. Tambient lighting is currently used by a wide range of firms, including Bell Atlantic, 3M3M
3M Company , formerly known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation based in Maplewood, Minnesota, United States....
, IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
and Crowley Maritime
Crowley Maritime
Crowley Maritime Corporation, based in Jacksonville, Florida, and founded in 1892, is primarily a family and employee-owned company that provides transportation and logistics services in U.S...
.
Sylvan Shemitz also held several patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s for a number of innovations regarding asymmetric lighting, which he marketed under the Elliptipar brand name.
Asymmetrical lighting is used in a variety famous public buildings including the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
, the Steven Holl
Steven Holl
Steven Holl is an American architect and watercolorist, perhaps best known for the 1998 Kiasma Contemporary Art Museum in Helsinki, Finland, the 2003 Simmons Hall at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the celebrated 2007 Bloch Building addition to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City,...
-designed Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is an art museum in Kansas City, Missouri, known for its neoclassical architecture and extensive collection of Asian art....
in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, and the grand concourse at Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
' Venetian Hotel.
Design career
Shemitz is, perhaps, most famous for his work with the Grand Central TerminalGrand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal —often incorrectly called Grand Central Station, or shortened to simply Grand Central—is a terminal station at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. He used "blue filtered tints" and magenta colored lighting to accent the exterior façade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
architectural elements of Grand Central. He explained his reasoning for his choice of colors in a 1991 interview with the New York Times, "I think the most important issue is to make New York a lively, friendly and joyful place." He is also well known for his work on the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Sylvan Shemitz worked very closely with the important design architects whose buildings he illuminated. For example, according to the New York Times, Shemitz worked with architect Helmut Jahn "to create a glowing glass shed intended as a modern take on a grand European rail station" at the United Airlines terminal at O'Hare International Airport
O'Hare International Airport
Chicago O'Hare International Airport , also known as O'Hare Airport, O'Hare Field, Chicago Airport, Chicago International Airport, or simply O'Hare, is a major airport located in the northwestern-most corner of Chicago, Illinois, United States, northwest of the Chicago Loop...
in Chicago, Illinois.
Shemitz's other projects in his portfolio
Career portfolio
Career portfolios are used to plan, organize and document education, work samples and skills. People use career portfolios to apply to jobs, apply to college or training programs, get a higher salary, show transferable skills, and to track personal development. They are more in-depth than a resume,...
included the Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
's CN Tower
CN Tower
The CN Tower is a communications and observation tower in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Standing tall, it was completed in 1976, becoming the world's tallest free-standing structure and world's tallest tower at the time. It held both records for 34 years until the completion of the Burj...
, the Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
's Lillian Goldman Law Library
Lillian Goldman Law Library
The Lillian Goldman Law Library is the law library of Yale Law School. It is located in the Sterling Law Building and has almost 800,000 volumes of print materials and about 10,000 active serial titles, in which there are 200,000 volumes of foreign and international law materials.-External links:*...
, and the Schneider Children’s Medical Center in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
Shemitz was chief executive at the Sylvan R. Shemitz Designs, a lighting manufacturer based in New Haven, CT, that he founded in 1963.
Death
Sylvan R. Shemitz died of an apparent heart attack on July 5, 2007, while sailing on Long Island SoundLong Island Sound
Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...
in the boat, the Light Fantastic. He was 82 years old. Shemitz was survived by his wife, Paula Shemitz, three daughters, and two granddaughters. He and his wife were residents of Woodbridge, Connecticut
Woodbridge, Connecticut
Woodbridge is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,983 at the 2000 census. It is one of the wealthiest towns in Connecticut, ranking 16th in the state in terms of per capita income, and is home to many of the faculty of Yale University...
.