By Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN — The Port Authority Bus Terminal is about to get the Times Square treatment.
Starting next month, the bus cavern on Eighth Avenue will be wrapped in a shell of 6,000 square feet of LED lights, turning it into a giant advertising video billboard, with moving lights and flashing colors.
The display, which is currently in the process of being installed now along the building's West 42nd Street and Eight Avenue facades, is made out of "Mediamesh" technology, which embeds LED lights in a stainless steel mesh curtain.
The ad revenue will be split between the A2aMEDIA, the company behind the displays, and the Port Authority, which could use it for upgrades to the terminal, spokesman Steve Coleman said. Coleman could not immediately say what percent of the ad revenue the Port Authority would receive.
Because of the way they're hung, the lights are invisible to those looking out from inside of the building, said Brian Schuvart, senior vice president at A2aMEDIA The mesh will also allow bus exhaust fumes to pass out of the building.
Schuvart said the installations are meant to be an "immersive experience" and part of a larger effort to upgrade the terminal.
"It really will be an exciting visual enhancement to the area," he said.
Similar LED technology is currently on display at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, as well is in other cities, including the American Airlines Arena in Miami.
The installation, which was first reported by Architects Newspaper, is expected to be up and running by mid-June.
