“Dark streets are dangerous streets ….This deficiency in public safety must be supplied by ornamental street lighting – where every standard becomes a silent sentinel to guard pedestrians against thugs ….and motorists against dangerous traffic accidents. There is still time, before winter comes, for your town to become brighter, safer, and more beautiful.”
These words are from a 1925 print advertisement touting a growing movement around the country in the early 20th century. Who made this claim? What is the movement? And how is it relevant today? Well, the ad was from the manufacturer of the lampposts that have long been iconic symbols of the Bluff Park Historic District.
In 2014 the Bluff Park Historic Lamppost Project began with a small group of resident neighbors who put on a centennial celebration (a birthday party) for their homes. Standing together to accept a Long Beach Heritage Preservation Award, many were initially strangers or acquaintances. Resident Michele Fricke declared, “The experience drew the community together.” They bonded through their collective consciousness to preserve the neighborhood’s historic integrity.
Thus was born a committee of the Bluff Park Neighborhood Association with a vision of BRINGING LAMPPOST HISTORY BACK. Currently, East 1st Street is the only street in the District to have vintage lampposts. Preserving those lampposts was a key impetus in the inception of the neighborhood association, and local residents over many years have wanted to bring antique-looking lampposts throughout the District.
Historic evidence tells a great story of a lamppost movement in the early 1900’s. The intent to install beautiful ornamental lampposts was part of a widespread civic movement of sorts. The discovery of oil in Long Beach in 1921 spurred economic and population booms. The automobile was taking off, creating more vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Cities needed street lighting and sought ornamental lights, of the kind being pioneered and advertised by the company Union Metal in Canton, Ohio.
Beginning in 1906, Union Metal catalogued over 2,000 original designs, had sales offices in 10 major US cities, and supplied over 4,400 towns nationwide with their first electric lighting poles, including 20,000 ornamental lampposts in the greater Los Angeles area alone before 1928.
With lampposts already along Ocean Boulevard, Belmont Avenue, and Redondo Avenue, the lampposts along East 1st Street were originally drawn up and submitted to the city of Long Beach in 1927. Within a couple years, there were plans to install lampposts along much of East 2nd Street and as part of elaborate “comfort stations” at the base of the bluff on the beach.
Interestingly the style and placement of the lampposts in each phase and area were not the same. Different models, heights, and densities of lampposts were placed within close proximity to each other, reflecting the local preferences and lighting needs of each thoroughfare.
Then as the 1920’s turned into the 1930’s, the lamppost movement saw its downturn: The US stock market crash in October 1929, the magnitude 6.4 Long Beach earthquake in March 1933, and the First World War that turned metal factories into weaponry makers. Absent these events, it is very likely that more lampposts would have been installed over time.
Now the goal of the Bluff Park Historic Lamppost Project is to remove over 100 modern, uncharacteristic cobra-style street lights and then install approximately 150 replicas of the East 1st Street lampposts throughout the District. The current lampposts along East 1st Street will remain intact and be the model for the replicas. The Project will be completed in phases over many years. The pilot phase, anticipated to be completed next year along Paloma Avenue, will serve as a central corridor to the Lone Sailor Statue.
Monies are being raised by personal and corporate donations, grants, and fundraisers. Financial contributions from neighborhood residents are necessary to vie for grants and sponsorships by demonstrating the community’s commitment to the Project.
Attached to the replica lampposts will be personalized engraved plaques to recognize and honor significant donors. Since BPNA operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit entity, donations are tax-deductible. From the outset, Third District Councilperson Suzie Price has offered her enthusiastic and generous support. Funding pledges for the first phase have nearly reached the half-way mark.
Once funded, city-approved vendors will fabricate and install the replica lampposts to exact specifications. Completion of the first pilot phase will create momentum to propel the Project forward in its future phases. The Project’s committee is being guided and encouraged by city leaders and by other successful lamppost restoration projects in California Heights and Bixby Park.
The Project is bringing together the resident community around a common goal and purpose. It is generating opportunities for neighbors to meet and socialize; learn new skills for outreach, grant-writing and fundraising; and engage with the broader community of city officials, historic districts, and historic preservationists.
Longtime preservationist and resident Helena Segelhorst chants the cheer: “It’s doable!” The Historical Society of Long Beach says, “Bluff Park Neighborhood Association has resolved to bring vintage lampposts back where they once stood, to enhance their neighborhood’s sense of place, history, and camaraderie.”
Ultimately the Project will fulfill another Union Metal advertisement that brags to “ornament the streets by day and make them safe by night” – all this while enhancing the cohesion and charm of one of Long Beach’s important historic neighborhood districts.
Interested in contributing, getting involved, or learning more about bringing lamppost history back? Visit BluffPark.org or E-mail [email protected].
By Jeffrey Mallin
