Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 295, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 December 1918 — Ornamental Lamp-Posts Add to Attractiveness of the Up-to-Date City [ARTICLE]

Ornamental Lamp-Posts Add to Attractiveness of the Up-to-Date City

There la no, feature of municipal equipment that adds more to the at* tracJveness of a city’s appearance than do ornamental street lamp-posts of artistic and appropriate design. Just as the effectiveness or Interior decorations and furnishings depend in a large measure upon lighting fixtures, so the beauty of the street can be enhanced or marred by its lights. In each case a satisfactory solution of the, lighting problem consists not only in supplying sufficient illumination but also in providing lighting equipment that harmonizes with Its surroundings and possesses a beauty of its own. The old-lamp-post In vogue before the days of electricity, writes Thomas J. Davis, in the House Beautiful, fulfilled the second $f these conditions, but not the first; for, although the post Itself was often a work of art, Its feeble oil or gas flame seldom was equal to the task of Illuminating the street. On the other hand, the modern overhead arc lamp gives a fairly satisfactory light, but the unsightly poles, ropes, wires and other equipment can scarcely be called beautiful. Now comes the ornamental street lamp-post, which combines the beauty of one of its predecessors and the utility of the other.