During the week that the White Sox made their push for the World
Series, one of the downtown skyscrapers in Chicago purveyed messages
of encouragement and exhortation (GO SOX etc) by illuminating certain
floors and areas
and leaving others dark; thus creating giant letters. Not a new
phenomenon I know, but I got to wondering...How DO they do that? I
have a mental picture of some guy running from floor to floor hitting
the lights whilst talking on the phone to someone 400 yards away.
There could be fifty different companies in a building that size;
hundreds of people...are there memos? ...is there a company you can
call to do it FOR you ?
Such are the mysteries that occupy me whilst waiting for the Cubs to win the WS.
Optimistically Yours
Phink

Hi Phinky!

The CNA Insurance office building had the 'GO SOX' slogan written in
lights across the building.

The pattern was printed out on grid paper by a computer, and then each
night three guys walk through the building opening and closing the
blinds. It's low-tech, but it works.

?CLTV showed the guys walking through one night turning all the blinds around.? 

Houston Architecture Info Forum
http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/index.php?showtopic=4176



============================================


The lighted slogan is achieved through a design software program
whereby CNA engineers determine which specific windows are lit;
remaining windows have closed blinds. The overall affect is achieved
by manually opening or closing approximately 1,600 window blinds on 26
floors of the 44-story office building.

Excerpt:

?Today, CNA insurance companies announced its intention to celebrate
the Chicago White Sox winning the World Series by lighting their
Wabash Avenue office building with the slogan 'SOX WIN.' The
Chicago-based company has been supporting the Sox throughout the
baseball play-offs with 'GO SOX' written in lights across its
signature bright, red building.?

(?)

?The lighted slogan is achieved through a design software program
whereby CNA engineers determine which specific windows are lit;
remaining windows have closed blinds. The overall affect is achieved
by manually opening or closing approximately 1,600 window blinds on 26
floors of the 44-story office building.?

Business Wire: October 2005
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20051027005839&newsLang=en

CNA Investors
http://investor.cna.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=104503&p=irol-newsAllArticle&ID=774298&highlight=


============================================


Here is a video where the process is explained in more detail.

Download the video here:
http://steveandamysly.tannerworld.com/databank/video_cnawhitesox1.avi



The son of one of the workers who helped place the GO SOX message on
the CNA building provides some interesting information on how this was
done.

Tanner World Junction 
http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?t=6246


?The CNA building is well known for spelling out large messages for
the city to read via on/off office lights shining through the windows.
Typically, CNA does this for sports teams or other special events. ?


"The displays are planned out by computer"
 

?In order to pull off such a feat, a computer is used to plot out the
message strategy for the building. But when it comes to actually
making it happen, that's a manual process.?


?You have to go to each office denoted on the plan and  close the
blinds accordingly. It's a tedious process that has to take place
after business hours. ?


"Shades with green dots remained open, according to this engineer"

"The CNA building shows off its pride in the White Sox by  displaying
'Go Sox' and 'Sox' via strategically shut shades"

?Computer printouts that calculates which of the windows are
open/closed. He gave me a copy to look at. It's pretty cool to view up
close. Everything is setup in a grid, with floor listed and window
listed.?


Images
http://steveandamysly.tannerworld.com/databank/image_cnawhitesox9.jpg

http://steveandamysly.tannerworld.com/databank/image_cnawhitesox10.jpg
					
http://steveandamysly.tannerworld.com/databank/image_cnawhitesox4.jpg



============================================



Search terms used: 
Messages on skyscrapers windows
CAN building ?GO SOX?

I hope the information provided is helpful!

Best regards,
Bobbie7

Bobbie...you're a gentleman (or lady) and a scholar. A comprehensive
and excellent answer. Many thanks. I can rest easy tonight and put my
mind to yet more perplexing questions...watch this space.