DETROIT BLUES

by Kevin Walsh

A stretch of Kercheval Avenue in the Morningside section of Detroit, in the northeast part of town, still has some examples of Detroit’s oldest surviving municipal light post, some posts dating back to 1897.

 

There are other posts of this type scattered around town, but these still have their 1940s pendant and gumball-style luminaires. Note the footholds on the shaft, going all the way to the apex.

I’m told Detroit plans to overhaul its lampposts and scour out these survivors by 2017.

Photo courtesy the Facebook group ‎Traffic Signals and Highway Signs.

11/6/14

4 comments

Mike November 6, 2014 - 7:44 pm

As a resident of Detroit, I would be surprised if they replaced the lights by 3017 but on the other hand they do seem to go out of their way to destroy history

Reply
chris November 6, 2014 - 9:25 pm

That street light puts new york’s ones to shame-and Detroit is a failed city

Reply
John Sterbenz November 6, 2014 - 10:19 pm

Retro versions (in some cases, double-sided) of these adorn the more popular spots of the city, including the areas surrounding Comerica Park, Ford Field, and the Fox Theater. I knew there were still some originals around the city but have never taken the time to find them other than to say that, as recently as two years ago, there were still some along McNichols Rd. near I-75. Seems they had been replaced and the old ones were not functioning but the city never bothered to have the actual poles removed.

All streetlights are being upgraded to the new LED lights. Given that, until recently, the odds were literally 50% that any given streetlight in any part of Detroit except downtown was not functioning correctly (copper stripping, no maintenance….plenty of other reasons), the installation of the LEDs will be an improvement despite the loss of these last, lone beauties.

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Jeff B. November 6, 2014 - 11:14 pm

I had the misfortune to work my first post-college real job in Detroit back in 78-79. It was actually Highland Park, which was a donut hole in Detroit. I remember these style posts because they were so old and like nothing I had seen other than in photos. I hate to say it, but if those cars weren’t there in the first photo, you’d never know what year it was. I drove thru parts of Detroit to/from work that looked like this back then.

Reply

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