Old Streetlights still in existance

[NJRoadfan]

Incandescent street lights are still very common in northern NJ suburbs. Some even appear on GSP on/off ramps on the northern section. The streets of South Orange NJ are still entirely lit by gas lamps. The big florescent fixtures likely were killed off due to their high rates of failure. The ballasts likely weren't all that reliable compared to a typical mercury vapor or high pressure sodium.

[roadman65]

Remember the fluorescent streetlight trend?  These had "long", sort of half-cylindrical heads set at about a 25-degree angle, each containing a genuine fluorescent tube.  I think these reached their peak in the late 1960s or so.  Any of these still around?  I seem to recall they were found on Hollywood Blvd. in California at one point.

Like these? Last time I went thru Waterloo, they were still there.

Or these? These have been replaced (as can be seen in the satellite photo) within the past year or two. It was about time, as the old ones emitted an ugly yellowish light. The replacements are LED.

I spotted some vintage pictures featuring these fluorescent streetlights via the Skyscraperpage forum taken in Sherbrooke during the late 1960s-early 1970s
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?p=5379474

I believe those may be Westinghouse Whiteways, or a relative of same.

Maryland used them on the network of approach roads to the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel (I-895 today) - here are images from the south portal not long after the crossing was opened in 1957 (these were replaced by "cobra head" HPS luminaires in the late 1970's or early 1980's):





More about Whiteways in New York City on this page by Jeff Saltzman.

I remember these when I was little.  These types of lights were even common in New Jersey in many business districts. 

The Garden State Parkway, back in the 1970s had the regular bulb type as well as the streets of Westfield and Scotch Plains had them even in the late 80s.  Then, I also remember that they were in use in the Hampton Roads Area on many streets and what were cool about them is the fact they were dim and gave off just the right amount of light.

[KEK Inc.]

Remember the fluorescent streetlight trend?  These had "long", sort of half-cylindrical heads set at about a 25-degree angle, each containing a genuine fluorescent tube.  I think these reached their peak in the late 1960s or so.  Any of these still around?  I seem to recall they were found on Hollywood Blvd. in California at one point.

Germany-Poland border on A15/18. 



spot where the international boundary is!

Municipalities and states have different standards of street lighting here in the U.S.  Ever since I was 3, I could always spot city limit lines due to the mast design and cobraheads used on a street.  Santa Clara and San Jose has an interesting compromise on Steven's Creek Blvd melding the two streetlight designs.

Here's a typical San Jose streetlight.


Here's a typical Santa Clara streetlight. 


Here's Steven's Creek Blvd between the two municipalities.  Notice how they kept the material and mast pole style from San Jose, used the mast arm from Santa Clara, and used a mix of conventional HPS cobraheads and LPS lamps (unfortunately, this picture doesn't show any of those, but they exist throughout this stretch)?

This Phillips design (and its cousins) are all over the following in the United States, though it is getting dated:
Hilo, HI
San Jose, CA
Campbell, CA
Redwood City, CA
Long Beach, CA
San Diego Metro
Springfield, OR
Mass Turnpike

I was gonna say - they are all over.  but it's just in several areas I drive a lot.  US-101 as you approach San Jose from the south is particularly filled with them.

I just remember once parking my car (red under normal sunlight) at San Jose airport, and noting that it appeared to be gray.  the orange light is, I believe, composed of only two wavelengths very close to each other.

Interestingly enough, Southern California uses a mix of HPS and LPS on all of their freeways.  Northern California still uses standard HPS (and now LED in Cupertino at CA-85 and on CA-92 across the bay) on their freeways, despite many of the municipalities having low pressure sodium lamps.

[roadman65]

You are right about that.  In New Jersey along Clinton Avenue in Newark and Irvington, I used to be able to spot where the city line was between the two corporations by the street lighting.  Now its almost impossible as Irvington used to use fluorescant  lighting at the time, and Newark was using mercury vapor using standard dome assemblies.  Now the former converted to high pressure sodium vapor lights that also use the domes as well as Newark also replacing the mercury with sodium both, I believe, using the same type of mast arm.

Street signs, traffic signals, and street lights always told me, usually, when you crossed boundaries from one town to another.  In fact South Orange, NJ still uses gas lit street lamps that gives away this community and of course NYC has the old style double guys that lets you know when you cross out of Nassau and Westchester Counties into the NY City in New York State.  That can be a life saver when making a right turn on red as in NYC its illegal and the default law there!

[KEK Inc.]

Well, many municipalities favor specific companies for HPS lighting.  And within those companies, specific models are desired.   There's also cut-out, semi cut-out, and non cut-out cobraheads.  For example, California and Washington pretty much always uses full cut-out cobraheads on their freeways and state maintained streetlighting on roads (no convexed dome on the streetlight), while Missouri generally uses non cut-out.

[brownpelican]

These lights still line Tulane Avenue in New Orleans.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=New+Orleans,+LA&ll=29.967009,-90.100143&spn=0.005437,0.006899&hnear=New+Orleans,+Orleans,+Louisiana&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=29.967054,-90.102287&panoid=zoD5XUE_PL1HZmpAO63u6A&cbp=12,275.87,,0,-16.08

Much of the city has this type of street lights:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=New+Orleans,+LA&ll=29.969305,-90.093062&spn=0.005474,0.006899&hnear=New+Orleans,+Orleans,+Louisiana&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=29.969234,-90.095174&panoid=r3hxzzzJ5FHuFqbk19CzuQ&cbp=12,199.16,,0,-4.75

These have been along Canal Street downtown for decades.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=New+Orleans,+LA&ll=29.953638,-90.068525&spn=0.003872,0.003449&hnear=New+Orleans,+Orleans,+Louisiana&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=29.953578,-90.069466&panoid=-EG61C3XtIAnBEiPZEw1PA&cbp=12,175.39,,0,-2.2

Here are the St. Charles Ave. lights:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=New+Orleans,+LA&ll=29.927583,-90.089457&spn=0.010953,0.013797&hnear=New+Orleans,+Orleans,+Louisiana&t=h&z=16&layer=c&cbll=29.927479,-90.093681&panoid=PTuElcdzfRpxdykN-vy5Ig&cbp=12,227.49,,0,-4.23

[jfs1988]

I always wondered about those orange rectangle street lights. When I am driving along I-5 or I-15 southbound in southern Orange County or southern Riverside County, & start seeing those lights, it indicates me that I am leaving the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area (Los Angeles County, Orange County, Ventura County, southwestern San Bernardino/western Riverside County "AKA Inland Empire region") & entering the San Diego Metropolitan Area. I hope they dont get phased out in the future, they look really awesome at night.

[roadman65]

I am surprised no one has brought up the classic "Hershey Kisses" street lamps in Downtown Hershey, PA!  They have been around for many many decades.  The only change to them is from mercury vapor to high pressure sodium lighting, but the poles and assemblies are original though.

[Truvelo]

Arizona also has low pressure sodium.

[PHLBOS]

Remember the fluorescent streetlight trend?  These had "long", sort of half-cylindrical heads set at about a 25-degree angle, each containing a genuine fluorescent tube.  I think these reached their peak in the late 1960s or so.  Any of these still around?  I seem to recall they were found on Hollywood Blvd. in California at one point.

Like these? Last time I went thru Waterloo, they were still there.

Or these? These have been replaced (as can be seen in the satellite photo) within the past year or two. It was about time, as the old ones emitted an ugly yellowish light. The replacements are LED.

I spotted some vintage pictures featuring these fluorescent streetlights via the Skyscraperpage forum taken in Sherbrooke during the late 1960s-early 1970s
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?p=5379474

At one time, the entire Boston Extension of the Mass Pike (I-90) (from I-95 to I-93) had those type of street lights (that light up as a dark orange) along it.  Today, only the section east of the Prudential Center/Tunnel, still has those old-style street lights.  The rest of them were converted to sodium vapor cobraheads. 

[Henry]

Chicago still has lots of Crimefighter luminaires on its streets that consist of normal full-cutoff cobraheads with bucket-shaped refractors placed underneath. They usually come in two sizes: a small 150-watt version, and a larger 310-watt one, both HPS. IIRC, they were first introduced in 1970.