Salesforce Tower was turned into the ‘Eye of Sauron’ for Halloween

The
Eye of Sauron in “Lord of the Rings.”
YouTube/Warner Bros

• Salesforce Tower, the tallest building in San Francisco, was
  lit up for Halloween to depict the infamous “Eye of Sauron” from
  “The Lord of the Rings.”
• The idea originated from an online petition that had more
  than 11,000 signatures by Halloween.
• Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, whose company is headquartered
  in the skyscraper, seemed to shoot down the idea
  earlier this month. But the glowing eye was widely visible
  Wednesday night.

As the sun set Wednesday night during Halloween, San Francisco
was treated to a surprise. Salesforce Tower, the tallest building
in the city’s skyline, lit up in fiery colors to depict the “Eye
of Sauron,” the iconic symbol the Dark Lord adopted in “The
Lord of the Rings.”

The idea for the skyscraper’s Halloween costume first gained
traction through
a Change.org petition penned at the beginning of the month.
By Halloween, the petition had garnered more than 11,000
signatures in support of the tower getting a “Lord of the Rings”
makeover.

With 11,000 LED lights
making up the screen atop the tower, the glowing eye
could be seen clearly against the dark sky around San Francisco.

 

However, the stunt originally didn’t seem likely to happen when
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff
quickly shot down the idea earlier this month.

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Read more: 


Over 1,300 people are asking CEO Marc Benioff to turn Salesforce
Tower into the ‘Eye of Sauron’ on Halloween night — but he’s not
into it

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Although the 1070-foot
tall building serves as the software company’s HQ, the
building — and the display on top — are owned by Boston
Properties. The artist in charge of the LED display
told reporters in May he would never portray an advertisement
or holiday-themed image on the building.

But that apparently didn’t stop whoever had the ultimate say for
what would appear atop Salesforce Tower on Wednesday. Perhaps
they were persuaded by the petition organizers’ appeal to “help
us unite the city, and raise the torch on Halloween night
as one community, together.”

Or, perhaps, it was Sauron, with his powerful will and
overbearing strength, that convinced them.