Brilliant Public Lighting.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLVIII, Issue 9, 28 August 1912, Page 33

Brilliant Public Lighting.

What American Cities Have Done — Competition Between Municipalities and Tradesmen —Best-lighted Streets in the World.

By

GLENN MARSTON.

PUBLIC lighting in the United States falls broadly into two classes: that provided by municipalities, and that which serves some private purpose in addition to its public value. It is due to the rapid growth of outdoor lighting for business purposes, that American street lighting per sc is inferior to street lighting abroad. The foreigner who goes to America finds that the number of street lamps in most of the cities is much smaller than in similar European cities, and he therefore concludes at once that America is outdistanced by Europe in the matter of street lighting. But is this really tin* fact? From the purely artistic standpoint it may be, though some of the illuminating atrocities in European public lighting would not be tolerated in America foi* a moment. On the other hand, the Avenue de I’Opera in Paris, and many streets in Berlin, are far more artistically lighted than any American street, with the possible exception of Fifth Avenue, New

York, and Michigan Avenue, Chicago, when the new lighting scheme on that boulevard is completed. From the practical standpoint, however. American streets are the best lighted in the world. They are more bril liant. and the diffusion of light is bettei than that of European streets. This is due to the use of highly il'luminatet windows and ornamental electric signs with which the business streets of every American city are lined. In these fea tures America excels. The far-reaching effect of this practice is astounding. Not only are the streets better lighted, but the cost to the public is greatly reduced. It need not be point cd out that an electric sign is quite as valuable an illuminant as a public street lamp; and that an increase ii sign-lighting permits a decrease in city lighting without affecting the police value of the total illumination. American cities have been quirk to take advantage of this fart, and have passei liberal electric-sign ordinances, as being a most satisfactory means of saving the city mmmy.

Ihe owner of an electric sign usually erects it for the purpose of increasing his business. I here is no high philanthropic motive liehind it, yet he unwittingly bt\M>mes at once a public benefactor. Light is the l»est police agent in the world, and every merchant who erects an electric sign is adding his con tribution to the protection of his street. The highwayman does not choose the brilliant corner for his work, nor do burglars go through well-lighted wind ows. There are cities whose mayors will not hesitate to tell you that if the electric signs were removed, the police forces would have to be doubled. Nor did it take these sign owners long to discover that light in itself is a creator of crowds. People flock to the best lighted streets, ami it his •become an important matter to secure a location where the light is brightest. With -this in mind, the merchants of dozens of di ties have banded together for the installation of curb lights, h; some cases illuminated arches are placed over the streets, but the most common plan is to install what is known as “boulevard lighting,” which comprises the use of 'ornamental posts surmounted by one or more ground-glass globes containing the 'lamps. Probably' the most extensively lighted city of this character is St. Paul, with Los Angeles a close second. In St. Paul

all such lighting is uniform. In Los Angeles different merchants’ associations have chosen different designs, so that on one street six-light posts may be seen, while on others there are but two lamps to a post. The usual plan in carrying out such a scheme is for the chamber of com •merer to appoint a committee to investigate. or if there is no such organisation. to create a commit tee of merchants in a certain district or street. This com mittee secures estimates and designs and presents its findings to 'the association. A sub-committee secures signatures of the property-owners or tenants agreeing to meet pro rata tin* cost of installation and maintenance for a term of five or ten years. 'lhe benefits of such a lighting scheme would seem to be sufficiently self-evident to make the securing of signatures an easy matter, but sudb is not the ease. After vainly seeking signatures for several months, the president of one such association in the Southwest got a rope, which he tied to the left arm of each of his committeemen, and the whole bunch started down the street. 'I bey would enter a store and surround the proprietor, who was literally “roped in.” until he capitulated. Needless to say. the lighting scheme went through. It is less than twenty vears since the first electric sign was. erected on the Hot 1 Normandie, in New York. There

were hardly a hundred lamps in that sign. To-day the same space is occupied by the most elaltorate electric sign in the world, the famous ‘Chariot Race.” whic h demands energy to the extent of 251) horse-power for its operation. It is h»ss than ten years since the “flasher” became practicable, yet to-day we have flaming torches, prancing horses, waving flags, and countless other less complicated effects created by momentarily extingiiishiiig the lamp-, The in trod'iiiction of the flasher was the greatest single advance yet made in electric signs. It not only made the signs mon* impressive. but it also reduced the cost of current for operating the sign. Bills for electricity in Hasher signs are from half to a quarter of what they are for steady burning signs. The wide use of electric lighting for publicity has made the path of the municipality comparatively easy. Lighting by the public authorities is primarily for purposes of protection, and concerns itself chiefly with the question of candlepower. with such considerations for beauty as may be within the financial and artistic abilities of the community. Every illuminated window or sign therefore reduces the amount of lighting which must In* provided at public expense. While Broadway below limes Square is the most brilliant street in the word, it will he found that the street lamps are few ami far between, the sav-

in <r to the city lading thousands of dollars per mile. But then* are streets where there are no signs, and Imre tlm American has done as well as the average European city. Styles in street lighting change almost as rapidly as do those in women's clothes, but with mon* reason. Constant experimentation has brought the illumination of streets and windows down t<> almost an exact science. There was a time when American cities tried to imitate tlm moon, and placed their lights on high steel towers. Not lieing able to attain the altitude of tin* moon, the experiment was a failure, for the chief product o'' the tower lighting was. n°t illumination, but shadows. The next craze was for lights placed as low as possible, and the cities became < luttered with poles fifteen or twenty feet high and then the tteople began to use intelligence. It was realized that the demand was not for light, but for illumination. and that a high eandl *- power lamp might easily lose most of its usefulness if not properly placed. \ striking example of this fact is shown in Boston. Copley Square was formerly lighted by seven of tin* common type enclosed arc lamps on eighteen foot posts. A little over a year ago. these were replaced by only three* flaming arcs on forty foot posts, with a greatly increased illumination and a decreased cost. Lighting after this manner was successful. liecause Copley Square is a large open area

without obstruction, so there is no difficulty from shadows. On’ the other hand, Commonwealth Avenue is lined with trees, and elevated illumination would be worse than useless. The problem here was to provide light beneath the trees. The result is accomplished by the use of are lamps of comparatively low candle-power, set fifteen feet alsive the ground. Central Park, in New York, is similarly lighted with tungsten lamps on ten-foot posts. While the American municipality may not be lavish with its public lighting, its use of electricity for sign lighting and decorative purposes associated with business is far in advance of anything Europe can show us. Cities of a million population, and more, can not show a dozen electric signs. We have gone at our problem in a different way, and have succeeded in our own fashion quite as well as have the European cities, whose streets show a stolid sameness in illumination. which is delightfully absent on our own more brilliant, if less expensively lighted, thoroughfares.