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There is one thing we often miss in our daily excursions: lampposts, many of which are made out of cast-iron. In 1997, 62 of the 100 known existing original lampposts were landmarked by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
The earliest efforts to have the streets of New York illuminated began in 1697, when the Common Council of New York ordered homes to place lights in front of the windows facing the streets, but they finally upgraded to lampposts in 1762, when the city levied taxes to install plain wooden posts. However, these too were soon replaced by gas streetlighting in 1823. When the technology reached a plateau in the late 1800s, lighting companies began to focus on the artistic design of lampposts, and the first set of ornamental models were installed in 1892 along Fifth Avenue.
Though the city has since replaced many of these ornamental structures with modern steel and aluminum models, there are still some historic lampposts that survive today. Here’s a sampling:
This simple gas lamp, located in an easy-to-miss gated community in Greenwich Village, is actually the oldest working gas lamp (or second oldest) in New York City. It miraculously survived the mass replacement of the thousands of gas lamps in New York after the introduction of electric lighting, though nowadays it’s also sporting a modern light bulb.
Appearing at the turn of the last century, the bishop’s crook lamppost is among the oldest designs that are still in use today, and one of the many ornamental designs that emerged. Some bishop’s crooks that you see around the city today are actually reproductions from 1980, but this lamppost, located at the intersection of Lafayette Street and Canal Street, is an original–likely more than 100 years old.
Located at the northeast corner of 23rd and Broadway, this ornamental lamppost is one of the last remaining original lampposts intended for use along Fifth Avenue in the 1890s.
New York City’s first ornamental street lamps were installed in September 1892 on Fifth Avenue between Washington Square Park and 59th Street and the Edison Illuminating Company provided the electricity. Beginning in 1913 the twin lamppost began appearing throughout the City. The last of the Type 24 Twin Lamppost can be found in Johnny Hartman Square, which is located at the intersection of Amsterdam Avenue, Hamilton Place and West 143rd Street. See the fun design on its base here.
Fashioned out of cast-iron, Corvington-style lampposts were a popular streetlight for large avenues due to their long reach. This particular lamppost is located on Greenwich Street and Trinity Place.
Stay tuned for our upcoming vintage photo post on lampposts styles that have been lost to time.
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