BRING THE LIGHT BACK TO CITY HALL! - WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!

The searchlight in University City that is housed in the roof of City Hall and shone over the 1904 World's Fair needs your help to shine once again.  This light is the largest and only one of it's type in the world.   The light has previously shone over our city on special occasions but has been dormant for years.  The Historical Society of University City is attempting to jump start the restoration of the light and ensure that it is able to shine again over our great city.   

This is where YOU come in:

We are calling on the city to assist in helping to restore our iconic searchlight. 

Let’s not deprive our community of this iconic symbol that is truly one of a kind. Let’s ensure the light shines again—creating new memories for our children and grandchildren for decades to come.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: Reach out to your Councilmember today and sign the petition requesting that they make the restoration of this wonderful beacon a priority.

Mayor: Terry Crow mayor@ucitymo.org
Interim City Manager Brooke Sharp bsmith@ucitymo.org
1st Ward: Lisa Brenner lisabrennerucity@gmail.com
1st Ward: Steve McMahon steve_mcmahon@att.net
2nd Ward: John Tieman tiemanucity@gmail.com
2nd Ward: Dennis Fuller fullerucity@gmail.com
3rd Ward: Bwayne Smotherson bsmotherson@gmail.com
3rd Ward: Stacy Clay clayucity@gmail.com

Let's unite to bring back the beacon of our community. Sign the petition to restore the University City searchlight and be a part of reviving our rich heritage and vibrant future.

For more information on this project visit ucitysearchlight.com


UPDATE: 02.12.25  

A question was asked about funding for this project and we wanted to provide some information in regard to that.   

There are a few different options for funding at this time.  The first is part of $154k in CALOP (Commission for access and local original programming) funds that were set aside years ago and the Commission dissolved.  The city is working on opening up applications for these funds again and the historical society will apply.  There are also a few different grants that can be applied for in terms of funding streams.  The aim for the use of the light would be for 2-3 times a year so ongoing maintenance would be fairly low and the majority of that would be volunteer time.  Please email ucityhistory@hotmail.com if there are any other questions not answered.  

Searchlight shining over the 1904 World's Fair