Superintendent of Lighting J.D. Ross, fascinated with artistic lighting from early in his life, received permission from the US Forest Service in 1929 to manage Ladder Creek Falls so he could illuminate the falls with changing colors. By 1930, the falls were lit in all the varying colors of the rainbow, creating a spectacle enhanced by music drifting through the gardens from hidden speakers to set the mood. Together, the gardens and falls became a paradise of color in the wilderness, and with music and lights they created an exotic scene in an unlikely place.