Bright lights, big river.

That’s the combination a group of Jacksonville architects envisions for downtown’s Riverwalk, saying columns of lights spaced like a glittering necklace could turn the St. Johns River into a "river of light."

The concept is in its beginning stages, but it has gained early backing from City Council President Lori Boyer. She is in the midst of a wide-ranging look at how to bring more activity of all kinds to the St. Johns River.

For the stretch of the river flowing through downtown, the Jacksonville chapter of the American Institute of Architects envisions a high-voltage display with skyward beacons that link various attractions in downtown.

"The vision is to create this pearl necklace, this string of lights along the river, that are connected and can really showcase our city," said Thomas Duke, the chairman of the Downtown Visioning Committee for the Jacksonville chapter of AIA.

He said the timing is right because downtown is poised for new developments such as The Shipyards and The District, along with existing attractions such as Friendship Fountain and The Jacksonville Landing.

"This creates the framework that everybody can plug into," he said.

In a recent meeting with the Times-Union editorial board, architects said the lights would vary in intensity from an "easy glow on the eyes" to the spectacle of laser light shows shooting beams from one side of the river to the other.

Yves Rathle compared it to music ranging from Beethoven to acid punk rock.

"On occasion, you’ll turn up the volume and you’ll have rock and roll," he said.

Downtown already has lighting on its bridges, but that is a cautionary tale of the maintenance costs involved in decorative lighting.

The Jacksonville Transportation Authority installed neon-blue strips that illuminated both sides of the Acosta Bridge in 1999, but they’ve been out of operation since 2015.

The Main Street bridge was a ablaze with lights when Jacksonville hosted the Super Bowl in 2005. The lights still go on nightly, but over the years, burned-out bulbs diminished the glow. A specialized display of lights at the bridge’s towers that changed colors — one design depicted the American flag — has been completely out of commission for several years.

Boyer said identifying money for maintenance would be critical if the city goes forward with more expansive lighting along the riverfront. She said a possible source would be tourism development taxes collected from hotel guests if the light shows attract visitors here.

"I think there are ways we can deal with the maintenance costs," she said.

Duke said it will take buy-in from an array of groups, including companies and property-owners along the river. For instance, Rathle showed off renderings of what the CSX headquarters building would look like with an image of a CSX locomotive traveling up and down the side of the building. In the area of The Shipyards, he showed a huge screen facing the river that people could pull up to and watch movies from their boats.

"Master plans have come and gone in this city," Duke said. "We’re not trying to master plan. But there are so many different [development] proposals on the table. We have to connect all these places while creating something that is uniquely Jacksonville."

David Bauerlein: (904) 359-4581