And starting Wednesday, one month after the mass shooting in Las Vegas, at least 52 buildings and other structures in 19 states and the nation’s capital will be lit up in orange for up to 58 nights — one night for each person killed in the massacre.
The campaign was initiated by Scott H. Rechler, the chairman and chief executive of RXR Realty, which owns and operates buildings in the New York area. It was organized with the help of Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit group that aims to reduce gun violence in the United States, where 33,000 people are killed by gunfire every year.
In an interview, Mr. Rechler said he wanted to keep a dialogue about gun control and gun violence going after the Las Vegas shooting. “I began to realize that maybe this is a way to make a statement to keep it in people’s minds — that it hasn’t been resolved,” he said.
“These are iconic buildings that are very visible,” Mr. Rechler added. “It raises awareness.”
The buildings and structures cover the country, from the San Diego Museum of Man, across the Rocky Mountains to the Boulder Courthouse in Colorado, to the Skydance Pedestrian Bridge in Oklahoma City, and further east to the Helmsley Building and 4 Times Square in New York.
Illuminating a recognizable part of a city’s skyline in symbolic lights sends a message of solidarity from a community, Mr. Rechler said. The ZACH Theater in Austin, Tex., is one such structure associated with the heart of a hometown.
