I know this is somewhat tangential to the thread, since it isn't about buildings or architecture as such; but even so I think many here will appreciate the following pictures of vintage styled street lamps. I noticed them on the Overland Avenue bridge over the 10 freeway.
I've noticed quite a few retro lamps here and there, particularly after street widening projects and the like. The standards and casings feature an extra curlicue here and there so you can tell that the designer was aiming for a vague quasi-retro effect; at the same time it's still obviously of contemporary manufacture. The same is true of these, but they do carry through the simulation much more effectively.
Although I didn't notice them right away, I was mildly astonished by the fact that they feature what appear to be chimneys. Here's a closer look:
Some days after I noticed them we were driving home over this bridge, after dark. I couldn't fail to notice the rich yellowish hue of the light coming from these lamps. Making a mental note to return next evening with the good camera, I did so and got this shot:
Gadzooks! I was amazed to see what looks like a gas flame! In fact, I was so amazed that I groped instinctively for my smelling salts, only to remember that I had left them in my other suit. As it happens I've recently learned that there are other cities where, even today, gaslight is used extensively or even exclusively for public street lighting, so I had to wonder: Was it possible? As it turns out, not in this case. Lumec Philips, the manufacturer, offers a
Victorian Series of electric street lamps intended to resemble the gas lamps of old. They're quite effective at that.
Still, even from looking at my own pictures I can't make out exactly how they do work. Clearly, the light doesn't come from within the chimney, but rather above it. In the daylight closeup (second in this post) you can see a bulb-like structure that appears to be fastened to the top hanging down, as it were. But there seems to be a hole at the bottom of this "bulb" Now that I look at this picture again, I notice what appears to be a filament, or perhaps a tiny inner bulb; I now believe that in the nighttime shot, the brightness of this component is such that it washes out the details.
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