The Twin, originally produced for use on 5th Avenue at the dawn of the electrified lamppost era in the 1890s, originally had a different design (the mast of one of those originals can still be seen at the NE corner of 5th Avenue and East 23rd Street at Madison Square). Later, a modified design that set the template for subsequent Twinlamps appeared on 5th Avenue, and by the time 5th Avenue’s Twins were torn down in 1965, it was about 50/50 between the originals and the modifieds.
Both the original and modified Twin designs can be seen scattered around town throughout the 20th Century. The Twin was a favored design for roads with a separated median, and was used on roads that had them such as Queens Boulevard.
By the late 20th and early 21st Century, older Twins had become rare and could be found on occasion on 5th Avenue and City Hall Park, with lone wolves on 6th Avenue and Amsterdam Avenue uptown (the latter a monumental Twin that was only used at major intersections).
However, the City began installing new Twins on a limited basis, like this one on West 42nd Street in front of Bryant Park, and also on Central Park West from Columbus Circle north to West 81st Street. These new Twins have garlands winding around the shaft, which wasn’t in the first Twin designs.
8/22/12