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HALLOWELL — For years, Kieran Kammerer felt disappointed that the riverside bulkhead lay dormant during the winter.

From spring through early fall, the 50-plus rainbow-colored Adirondack chairs, which were Kammerer’s own idea, line the dock, bringing hundreds of people to downtown Hallowell.

But from November through March, there were no signs of life. No color. Very few people.

In July, Kammerer decided to change that.

He started brainstorming and landed on a winter art installation — 30 colorful wooden trees, which were celebrated and lit up last weekend by Hallowell residents. Representatives from the Hallowell Food Pantry accepted donations, and several other community organizations, including the Hall-Dale High School Athletic Boosters, set up tables.

Kammerer said the goal of the new installation, called Hallowell Lights on the Kennebec, is to bring light in the dark of Maine winter, and to encourage residents to visit downtown and the bulkhead year-round.

The color palette of the 30 trees mirrors the Adirondack chairs, which since their introduction in 2015 have become a ubiquitous symbol of Maine’s smallest city.

“The chairs morph into the trees,” Kammerer said. “Spring comes, so do the chairs. Winter comes, so do the trees.”

The design is simple: a single vibrant color painted over four planks of wood, cut to mirror a fir tree’s conical figure, held up by a wooden stand and illuminated by string lights. At their core, Kammerer said, the trees are public art, an ingredient of community life that’s becoming more important to him as he ages.

Each tree was funded by a community member for at least $150, which includes a plaque honoring someone or something of the donor’s choosing.

Even at that price, Kammerer isn’t anywhere close to breaking even on the project: “Mine was a labor of love,” he said. He backed the cost of the project using his self-operated business, Hallowell Woodworks.

“I’ve always enjoyed giving back — setting some example,” said Kammerer, a retired pediatrician. “It makes us a much stronger city the more people are involved.”

Mayor George Lapointe sponsored one. Easy Street Lounge owner Bruce Mayo funded one. Michel Paul Cyr, the owner of an art gallery on Water Street, funded another in honor of the 21 artists featured in his gallery.

Cyr said he hopes the new installation is as much a draw as the famous chairs are.

“I know people that come here in the summertime for the chairs. They do,” he said. “They take photos around the chairs. It’s become iconic. And then now with the trees — we get a lot of people that come in to ski, in the Airbnbs, and they stay around here. And I just think it’s a great, it’s a great thing. It can’t hurt.”

Kammerer said he hopes the trees can be used throughout downtown in future winters, perhaps attached to light poles or businesses.

Mostly, though, he hopes his countless hours of work are appreciated by those who live in Hallowell and those who visit the small riverfront city.

“I hope that when it’s dark out, these bring levity,” he said. “It’s a difficult time — the holidays and winter — when people have lost people. I hope these are a light.”