  Wintersmommy Member Username: Wintersmommy Post Number: 6 Registered: 12-2008 |
I have never paid attention to these until i read this article yesterday...then on my way home from a friend house i was driving down 14th street and saw 3 or 4 of them that i must have driven by hundreds of time!! I had no idea these were so old, what a treasure | ||
Detroit_signal Member Username: Detroit_signal Post Number: 66 Registered: 02-2007 |
Somebody wanted a twilight shot??  JOE C. | ||
Beech_cricker Member Username: Beech_cricker Post Number: 30 Registered: 10-2008 |
Joe C., that was me--well done with capturing a Bishop light doing its thing. All, I took a bunch of streetlight pix yesterday--will post a little report when I can, hopefully later today. | ||
Doma Member Username: Doma Post Number: 20 Registered: 05-2008 |
My dad was able to purchase 20 or 30 of these that were coming down a few years ago. We took them apart, sandblasted them, had them primed and painted with the best paint. Now they light his approach to the home they built in northern Macomb! We only needed 10 or so, the rest are in somebody elses hands. Wish I had some pics, I'll try to post next time I'm there. | ||
Beech_cricker Member Username: Beech_cricker Post Number: 31 Registered: 10-2008 |
Doma, a big thumbs up to your dad. It is great to hear some of these are being preserved versus trashed and gone forever. I'd sure like to see pix of these. What is your dad's electric bill like??? | ||
Beech_cricker Member Username: Beech_cricker Post Number: 32 Registered: 10-2008 |
Inspired by Buster’s photo story, yesterday I went out photographing streetlights in the city. I confined myself to the west side as it is closer to home and because I’m largely unversed on the east side. My first stop was W. Outer Drive, west of Livernois, where Mauser765 mentioned a vintage streetlights “hall of fame” of sorts could be found. I drove the stretch of Outer Drive from Livernois west and south to the Lodge and found nothing but retro lights of the type with a large globe atop the post. Perhaps these are a recent installation? Although they have apparently replaced some classic lights they do look very nice and fit in very well with the neighborhood which looks quite attractive. I next headed to Linwood where I hoped to find the nice stand of streetlights included in Buster’s post. I headed south on Linwood from the Lodge and did not see this stand (perhaps they are on Linwood north of the Lodge?). I did, however, find some nice Bishops in the Burlingame/Collingwood area as well as at Boston Ave. I continued down Linwood all the way to McGraw before heading to Grand River. Behind the site of the greatest building ever built, Olympia Stadium, I found what appears to be an old traffic light array “guarding” the McGraw/Lawton intersection. I say “guarding” as it wasn’t functioning. As my focus was streetlights I did not photograph these lights. I should go back, however. I headed south on Grand River to 14th Street. This street has a nice grouping of various streetlight styles. Moreover this street had very little traffic, is wide and one way so I didn’t have to dodge vehicles to get some photos. I took most of my photos near Buchanan and at Temple. I recall while photographing trains at Conrail’s WEST DETROIT tower several years ago taking a slide of a broadside view of a Bishop globe, at Junction and Federal. I couldn’t find this slide yesterday so I went looking for this light in an attempt to rephotograph it. Unfortunately there was some sort of flea market going on nearby so I was not able to find a place to park. I’ll have to revisit another day. Next I headed down the Boulevard from Michigan Avenue south. I’d say these are modern streetlights being that they have steel poles. Perhaps these are from the 1940s/50s? Though probably newer, they are quite stylish. I got a photo of one at W. Vernor that had a loose globe. After photographing a “greenie” at the corner of the W. Grand and Lafayette, I headed for Fort Street. I took several photos in the area of Springwells, Distel and near Dearborn Avenue, the latter adjacent to Woodmere Cemetery. As Buster noted in his follow-up post, many of the old streetlights in this section are quite battered. I also made a quick run up Lawndale where I found a few former Bishop poles now supporting a modern light installation (how demeaning). I concluded the day by photographing a telephone pole-mounted light on Schaefer and Dix. Perhaps this is from the 1930s/40s? I’m not smart enough to insert photos into a post (plus it would probably be overwhelming for the reader) so I created a webshots album of yesterday’s work that can be found here: http://community.webshots.com/ user/grassflatminer The locations of these photos are reflected in the file names. I had an enjoyable afternoon doing this…I hope to do more in the future. | ||
Busterwmu Member Username: Busterwmu Post Number: 483 Registered: 09-2004 |
Beech_Cricker, wow, thanks for all those photos! I think I am prone to the same thing that others here have voiced. Being unfamiliar with much of the east side, the stock of old lighting really caught my interest, whereas here on the west side, I know where they are but have never taken any photos. Your photo set has inspired me to do the same work on this side of town, and you've given me some great places to start, including some I'd never thought of. Glad you had an enjoyable time out and about. There is nothing like taking such photos on a crystal clear cold winter's day. The sun's light is harsh but accentuates the old lights all the more. And thanks for keeping good track of the locations you went. For my eastside work, I tried to get streetsigns in the background of some of my photos, but for others, I wasn't too good with noting the locations and had to get on Good Aerial Maps to try to figure out locations based on background buildings, etc. Glad to see that our work inspired someone! As a side note, you mentioned taking train photos at West Detroit tower in the past. Do you have any photos of the tower itself or trains passing it? That junctions has always interested me, sad to see what a mere shadow of itself it has become... | ||
Garrick Member Username: Garrick Post Number: 1 Registered: 01-2009 |
Thanks for the great post(s). I did a piece on the bowling-pin lampposts in Boston-Edison this past summer; unfortunately it was in response to their apparent replacement by ludicrously unsuitable "reproductions": http://www.preservationwayne.o rg/blogs/index.php?blog=4&titl e=historic-lampposts-in-boston -edison&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1 Its good to see so many instances of historic lampposts still extant around the city. These are exactly the kind of subtle details that give Detroit its unique character. | ||
Beech_cricker Member Username: Beech_cricker Post Number: 33 Registered: 10-2008 |
Buster, Yes, you and your friend's work has been an inspiration. I would highly recommend 14th Street from Grand River south to Michigan Avenue as there is a good selection of streetlights, light traffic and the neighorhood is OK. On Saturday I brought along a clipboard of paper to jot down the locations then ran home to put the locations in the file names while it was fresh in my head. That did the trick. I hope to get out again soon...maybe even later today after I run downtown for some business. As for WEST DETROIT, your best bet is to check out this chapter of the Jeff Knorek's Conrail Shared Assets website: http://knorek.com/RR/SAA/TwrJc t/WestDetroit.htm My slides from there are rather marginal--I always seemed to be there at the wrong time of the day (shadows). However, you're welcome to borrow mine for scanning purposes if you'd like. Jeff | ||
Beech_cricker Member Username: Beech_cricker Post Number: 34 Registered: 10-2008 |
Garrick, just read your piece on the lights in the Boston-Edison district--very well done. I posted a comment below article too.--Jeff | ||
Danny Member Username: Danny Post Number: 4421 Registered: 02-2004 |
Not just Detroit has these historic street lighting. Dearborn, Highland Park, Lincoln Park, Downtown Wyandotte, Los Angeles CA, and Austin TX. Downtown Lincoln Park has floral bud Street lighting design along Fort St. and Southfield Rd. from the 1930 to 1970s. In Dearborn Eastside, floral bud Street lighting design was along W. Warren Ave. and possible along the streets in developing areas in Fairlane and along Van Dyke Ave. from Harper Ave. to E. Eight Mile Rd. In the Meantine in Downtown Lincoln Park, the lighting was replaced by cured and metal string holding street lighting with a glass coned fixture. Later by the mid 1980s it was replaced by Westinghouse fixtures and throughout the years most the cured and metal string holding street lighting were servely damaged by crazy speed demon drivers. So the street lighting is replaced by cured poled lighting. In Downtown Wyandotte. They have double floral bud street lighting along Biddle Rd in the 1930s. Downtown Detroit still have the them today. Some of the double floral bud street lighting has been replaced by glass cones. By the mid 1960s, folks in Downtown Wyandotte took them down and replaced by Westinghouse fixtures and throughout the years most the cured and metal string holding street lighting were serevely damaged by crazy speed demon drivers. Then after several fixture replacements, Downtown Wyandotte recieved black tinker-toy like corp. lighting simular to those in most Detroit neighborhoods plus small street lamp posts. Downtown Dearborn and some neighborhoods had "The Pineapple Light" during the 1920s Most of them could be seen long Schaefer Rd, and Michigan Ave. It lasted til the 1960s and was replaced by cured and metal string holding street lighting with a glass coned fixtures and street lighting simular to the ones in Highland Park, Huntington Woods and Grosse Pointe's Lake Shore Dr, Downtown Wayne, Downtown Garden City, Downtown Ferndale, Downtown Royal Oak and Downtown Birmingham. After several replacements Downtown Dearborn's East End along Michigan Ave. have a mixture of street lamp posts and curved lighting with glass cone fixtures provided by Union Steel Corp. The Larger ones with two extra glass cones are located on W. Warren Ave. to dress up the fast growing Arab Community. On Village Rd. and Henry Ford Museum area. The "Concord" lanterns is still there. It's simular to the ones on West and East Outer Drive Rd. in Detroit. some of them are still there and some of them are gone. After several replacements, new taller lantern posts are there in some Outer Dr. neighborhoods. Newer replicas of the "Concord" lanterns are in place in some Detroit Historic ghettohoods of Palmer Park and Grandmont/Rosedale Park. (Message edited by danny on January 26, 2009) | ||
Gingellgirl Member Username: Gingellgirl Post Number: 236 Registered: 04-2007 |
Great info, Buster. You are not alone in your obsession with street lighting. Check out Streetlight Heaven at http://www.geocities.com/m400m an/ | ||
Gingellgirl Member Username: Gingellgirl Post Number: 237 Registered: 04-2007 |
Here's an article about Illuminating Concepts and vintage streetlight reproduction from the Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/2005/me tro/0509/26/E01-326855.htm | ||
Danny Member Username: Danny Post Number: 4422 Registered: 02-2004 |
On Washington Blvd, during the 1920s in Downtown Detroit. The Book and Kamper architects combined their ideals and wanted to get the city a pre-New York cityscape atmosphere. So not only did they plan to build lots of new rises, but also divide the Street into a Blvd. and installed five giant creamed street lighting in each corner. By the 1970s The DDA decided to shut part of the street from the Book Cadillac Hotel to the David Whitney Building located and develop a brick park with a fountains, a tinker-toyesque fluorescent lighting and a electric trolley transit system. The 5 creamed street lighting was taken down and replaced my corp. lighting. 30 Yers later the Streetscape of Washinton Bvld is a crackhead, po-folk mess with lots of vacant buildings. By 2005 when the contruction of restoration of Washington Bvld project began; The Motor City Electric and Raunhorn Electric Co. worked to reinstalled 5 replicas of the 5 creamed giant street lighting. Washington Bvld streetscape is restored back the way it was. | ||
Beech_cricker Member Username: Beech_cricker Post Number: 35 Registered: 10-2008 |
I was out and about for a bit this morning, took more pix, and added them to the end of the appropriate album at: http://community.webshots.com/ user/grassflatminer Jeff | ||
Cman710 Member Username: Cman710 Post Number: 584 Registered: 07-2006 |
Here is a shot from August 2006, showing an old Bishop pole supporting a newer installation, behind Tiger Stadium. This must have been taken down when they began the demolition.  | ||
Cman710 Member Username: Cman710 Post Number: 586 Registered: 07-2006 |
While on Michigan Avenue, there were two kinds of the newer installation: Michigan Avenue, looking South  Looking across the street from Tiger Stadium  | ||
Busterwmu Member Username: Busterwmu Post Number: 486 Registered: 09-2004 |
Cman, great photos. Thanks for sharing those Tiger Stadium area images... I must say, the new "old" lights really look good along that brick street! Beech_cricker, thanks for posting your additional photos. I had forgotten that the new lights on Bagley in Mexicantown were based off another old Detroit lighting design (which is not nearly as widespread as the traditional Bishop, but it just as historic). I think there are some similar vintage types on E. Vernor. Here is another DetroitYES thread from a month or two back about the Public Lighting Dept. and whom to call if you spy a light that is not working right: https://www.atdetroit.net/forum/mes sages/5/168931.html?1230328051 And gingellgirl, thanks for posting that link to the Detroit News article about the new "old" Bishop lights. I remembered reading it when it came out in 2005 but tried to do a quick search and couldn't find it. Thanks! | ||
Beech_cricker Member Username: Beech_cricker Post Number: 36 Registered: 10-2008 |
Cman, that Bishop with the new light on top near the LF corner gate of Tiger Stadium was still there on June 1 as it is visible in one of my photos from that day. As soon as demolition of the Stadium began, however, it was gone. | ||
Beech_cricker Member Username: Beech_cricker Post Number: 38 Registered: 10-2008 |
Buster/all, Can you tell me where I might be able to legally get an eye level vantage of a vintage Bishop globe for photography purposes? I'm thinking a bridge or building might provide the proper elevation. I think I had the right idea with the old Bishop at Junction and Federal but I couldn't get as close as I wanted without going too deep onto railroad property.--Jeff | ||
Bjl7997 Member Username: Bjl7997 Post Number: 42 Registered: 03-2005 |
just imagine if all traffic signals would be hanging on these thigga-ma-jiggers all over this  | ||
Aluminum Member Username: Aluminum Post Number: 20 Registered: 01-2008 |
I thought I remembered the street lights on Mack by East English Village had shades on them. Any information/ideas? | ||
Busterwmu Member Username: Busterwmu Post Number: 491 Registered: 09-2004 |
Aluminum, some of those first photo I posted up at the top here are from Mack, and they did not have any different kind of shade, but I don't know if we went far enough to get to East English Village. Many Bishops do have new lamps on the end replacing the original globe shaped lamps, there are many like this on the sidestreets in Indian Village, and various other places around the city. I guess the point is to make sure the lights WORK, rather than how they look, but these new fixtures added to century old poles really does not help the aesthetics. Were these the types you were thinking of along the line of new shades, maybe? (They look more or less like that first photo up a short ways next to Tiger Stadium, now removed). Beech_cricker, I also think you had the right idea with going on the train bridge, but I think those ones down there on Junction might not be the right choice...the tracks are busy and railroad police frequently has a presence in that area. Off the top of my head, I do have a recommendation for you. I believe there are Bishop type lights east of New Center, in the Piquette area. Looking at Google Maps, you can see the train track alignment of the Conrail and GTW going east from the Detroit Amtrak Station at Woodward. The tracks cross eachother at Beaubian Junction, then begin to curve northeast toward Milwaukee Jct. Back in the day, wye tracks connected the lines from Beaubian to the GTW line which used the Dequindre Cut to get to the River. These wye tracks have all been removed, but the bridges over the following roads remain (west to east): Brush, Beaubian, Hastings, I-75, and Russell. I don't know the status of the streetlights on all of these streets or what condition they are in. I don't know how easy it is to access those bridges, and I know it's not necessarily the best neighborhood, but, that may be a good place to drive around one day and just get a look. If you go, please report back, cuz I might like to check them out, too! | ||
Alsodave Member Username: Alsodave Post Number: 655 Registered: 10-2003 |
Bump! | ||
Danny Member Username: Danny Post Number: 4439 Registered: 02-2004 |
This is no bump, Alsodave. | ||
Danny Member Username: Danny Post Number: 4443 Registered: 02-2004 |
AHH Hamtramck High School! Where Arabs, East Indians, Blacks and what's left of Eastern European Caucausians kids fight for their piece of the hallway turf and pusing street drugs blocks away. | ||
Beech_cricker Member Username: Beech_cricker Post Number: 40 Registered: 10-2008 |
Buster, thanks for the tip on the possiblity of "Bishops from bridges" in the Beaubien and Milwaukee junctions area. I'll check that out, hopefully soon. As an aside I was fortunate enough to visit the operators at both Beaubien and Milwaukee Jct. towers--that is not only were they still with us but active too. That was maybe 20 years ago and I've probably only been back to that area a few times since (I'll have to bring my trusty street map). I added a few more streetlights pix to my webshots album. Most are of the gray Bishop on Fort at Central, opposite the produce terminal. I also added a pic of a streetlight in the 'burbs--Wyandotte in this case. This style of light fixture (not the arm) was just like those in my neighborhood when I was growing up. | ||
Beech_cricker Member Username: Beech_cricker Post Number: 42 Registered: 10-2008 |
Buster, I checked out the railroad bridges in the area you described off Piquette. None have bishops nearby that have globes. The rest are modern lights or bishop poles retrofitted with modern lights. Nonetheless I did photograph a few more streetlights while out and added them to my webshots album. I also saw NS and CN trains in the Beaubien/Milwaukee junctions area.--Jeff | ||
Busterwmu Member Username: Busterwmu Post Number: 498 Registered: 09-2004 |
Jeff, sorry I sent you more or less on a wild goose chase, I thought I remembered some old stuff out there but I couldn't remember if they had been retrofitted with new lamps or not. Glad at least there were a few things worth taking photos out there... | ||
Beech_cricker Member Username: Beech_cricker Post Number: 43 Registered: 10-2008 |
Buster, don't feel bad--it was not a wild goose chase. I got to see more streetlights and the sky conditions were fantastic. I really liked the bishop on Piquette between Brush and John R. There wasn't much traffic so I could take my time taking pix.--Jeff |
