They once proliferated on NYC streets by the thousands: making their debut around 1910, they lit major avenues and boulevards, and any street that was too wide for their predecessors, the Bishop Crooks, to handle. They are, of course, the Corvingtons, so named by former NYC King of Lampposts Jeff Saltzman, who had to relinquish his title about ten years ago when he moved to North Carolina (Bob Mulero and his collection of NYC lamppost photos from 1975 to the present is the modern-day King.)
The Corvs’ main feature is a cross arm that swings over the street, held by a curved bracket with metal scrolling in between. New Corvingtons began to appear around town, most notably on Columbus Avenue at first and then on other main roads all over, including Allerton Avenue in the Bronx and lower 5th Avenue in Bay Ridge. These new incarnations included Twin Corvs on West Street in Manhattan and Jericho Turnpike in Queens, but Twins were never in the original Corv canon.
A clutch of 1940s-era Corvs can still be seen on Greenwich, Washington and Morris Streets on either side of the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. The city regularly paints them, and some recently received new Bell luminaires. Hard to believe it, but these are the last survivors of a once-proud race.
9/13/13