Iconic landmarks go dark in 'Save Energy LA' campaign

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Some of Los Angeles' iconic landmarks went dark Friday night as part of a new campaign to conserve energy during the summer months.

It was lights out at L.A. City Hall and at Los Angeles International Airport, the colorful pylons went dark.

Several buildings in the downtown area turned out the lights from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. as part of Mayor Eric Garcetti's "Save Energy L.A." campaign. The goal was to reduce energy use in L.A.'s municipal facilities by 5 percent during the summer months. Commercial building owners were encouraged to do the same.

"Each of us can do a little something like we did with water, when we reduced our water use by 20 percent, to also reduce our power usage - that means we won't have blackouts," Garcetti explained.

The mayor tweeted out a photo showing the lights going out at Griffith Observatory.

A time-lapse video from the L.A. County Museum of Art showed its popular Urban Light exhibit going dark.

Local residents were also being urged to curb their energy use to reduce costs. Some said they were turning off unnecessary lights at home.

"I think that's amazing," said Natalli Dorn of North Hollywood. "I think L.A. really needs just that calmness, that break from wasting a lot of energy that really, technically, does not even need to be used."