LIGHTING THE STREETS

Artificial Light: Its Influence Upon Civilization by Matthew Luckiesh is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here. LIGHTING THE STREETS

XII. LIGHTING THE STREETS

In this age of brilliantly lighted boulevards and "great white ways" flooded with light from shop-windows, electric signs, and street-lamps, it is difficult to visualize the gloom which shrouded the streets a century ago. As the belated pedestrian walks along the suburban highways in comparative safety under adequate artificial lighting, he will realize the great influence of artificial light upon civilization if he recalls that not more than two centuries ago in London it was a common practice ... that a hundred or more in a company, young and old, would make nightly invasions upon houses of the wealthy to the intent to rob them and that when night was come no man durst adventure to walk in the streets.

Inhabitants of the cities of the present time are inclined to think that crime is common on the streets at night, but what would it be without adequate artificial light? Two centuries ago in a city like London a smoking grease-lamp, a candle, or a basket of pine knots here and there afforded the only street-lighting, and these were extinguished by eleven o'clock. Lawlessness was hatched and hidden by darkness, and even the lantern or torch served more to mark the victim than to protect him. It has been said in describing the conditions of the age of dark streets that everybody signed his will and was prepared for death before he left his home. By comparison with the present, one is again encouraged to believe that the world grows better. Doubtless, artificial light projected into the crannies has had something to do with this change.

Adequate street-lighting is really a product of the twentieth century, but throughout the nineteenth century progress was steadily made from the beginning of gas-lighting in 1807. In preceding centuries crude lighting was employed here and there but not generally by the public authorities. In the earliest centuries of written history little is said of street-lighting. In those days man was not so much inclined to improve upon nature, beyond protecting himself from the elements, and he lighted the streets more as a festive outburst than as an economic proposition. Nevertheless, in the early writings occasionally there are indications that in the centers of advanced civilization some efforts were made to light the streets.

The old Syrian city of Antioch, which in the fourth century of the Christian era contained about four hundred thousand inhabitants, appears to have had lighted streets. Libanius, who lived in the early years of that century, wrote:

The light of the sun is succeeded by other lights, which are far superior to the lamps lighted by Egyptians on the festival of Minerva of Sais. The night with us differs from the day only in the appearance of the light; with regard to labor and employment, everything goes on well.

Although apparently labor was not on a strike, the soldiers caused disturbances, for in another passage he tells of riotous soldiers who cut with their swords the ropes from which were suspended the lamps that afforded light in the night-time, to show that the ornaments of the city ought to give way to them.

Another writer in describing a dispute between two religious adherents of opposed creeds stated that they quarreled "till the streets were lighted" and the crowd of onlookers broke up, but not until they "spat in each other's face and retired." Thus it is seen that artificial light and civilization may advance, even though some human traits remain fundamentally unchanged.

Throughout the next thousand years there was little attempt to light the streets. Iron baskets of burning wood, primitive oil-lamps, and candles were used to some extent, but during all these centuries there was no attempt on the part of the government or of individuals to light the streets in an organized manner. In 1417 the Mayor of London ordained "lanthorns with lights to bee hanged out on the winter evenings betwixt Hallowtide and Candlemasse." This was during the festive season, so perhaps street-lighting was not the sole aim. Early in the sixteenth century, the streets of Paris being infested with robbers, the inhabitants were ordered to keep lights burning in the windows of all houses that fronted on the streets.

For about three centuries the citizens of London, and doubtless of Paris and of other cities, were reminded from time to time in official mandates "on pains and penalties to hang out their lanthorns at the appointed time." The watchman in long coat with halberd and lantern in hand supplemented these mandates as he made his rounds by,

A light here, maids, hang out your lights,

And see your horns be clear and bright,

That so your candle clear may shine,

Continuing from six till nine;

That honest men that walk along

May see to pass safe without wrong.

In 1668, when some regulations were made for improving the streets of London, the inhabitants were ordered "for the safety and peace of the city to hang out candles duly to the accustomed hour." Apparently this method of obtaining lighting for the streets was not met by the enthusiastic support of the people, for during the next few decades the Lord Mayor was busy issuing threats and commands. In 1679 he proclaimed the "neglect of the inhabitants of this city in hanging and keeping out their lights at the accustomed hours, according to the good and ancient usage of this City and Acts of the Common Council on that behalf." The result of this neglect was "when nights darkened the streets then wandered forth the sons of Belial, flown with insolence and wine."

In 1694 Hemig patented a reflector which partially surrounded the open flame of a whale-oil lamp and possessed a hole in the top which aided ventilation. He obtained the exclusive rights of lighting London for a period of years and undertook to place a light before every tenth door, between the hours of six and twelve o'clock, from Michaelmas to Lady Day. His effort was a worthy one, but he was opposed by a certain faction, which was successful in obtaining a withdrawal of his license in 1716. Again the burden of lighting the streets was thrust upon the residents and fines were imposed for negligence in this respect. But this procedure after a few more years of desultory lighting was again found to be unsatisfactory.

In 1729 certain individuals contracted to light the streets of London by taxing the residents and paid the city for this monopoly. Householders were permitted to hang out a lantern or a candle or to pay the company for doing so. But robberies increased so rapidly that in 1736 the Lord Mayor and Common Council petitioned Parliament to erect lamps for lighting the city. An act was passed accordingly, giving them the privilege to erect lamps where they saw fit and to burn them from sunset to sunrise. A charge was made to the residents, on a sliding scale depending upon the rate of rental of the houses. As a consequence five thousand lamps were soon installed. In 1738 there were fifteen thousand street lamps in London and they were burned an average of five thousand hours annually.

In the annals of these early times street-lighting is almost invariably the result of an attempt to reduce the number of robberies and other crimes. In appealing for more street-lamps in 1744 the Lord Mayor and aldermen of London in a petition to the king, stated that divers confederacies of great numbers of evil-disposed persons, armed with bludgeons, pistols, cutlasses, and other dangerous weapons, infest not only the private lanes and passages, but likewise the public streets and places of public concourse, and commit most daring outrages upon the persons of your Majesty's good subjects, whose affairs oblige them to pass through the streets, by terrifying, robbing and wounding them; and these facts are frequently perpetrated at such times as were heretofore deemed hours of security.

It has already been seen that gas-lighting was introduced in the streets of London for the first time in 1807. This marks the real beginning of public-service lighting companies. In the next decade interest in street-lighting by means of gas was awakened on the Continent, and it was not long before this new phase of civilization was well under way. Although this first gas-lighting was done by the use of open flames, it was a great improvement over all the preceding efforts. Lawlessness did not disappear entirely, of course, and perhaps it never will, but it skulked in the back streets. A controlling influence had now appeared.

But early innovations in lighting did not escape criticism and opposition. In fact, innovations to-day are not always received by unanimous consent. There were many in those early days who felt that what was good for them should be good enough for the younger generation. The descendants of these opponents are present to-day but fortunately in diminishing numbers. It has been shown that in Philadelphia in 1833 a proposal to install a gas-plant was met with a protest signed by many prominent citizens. A few paragraphs of an article entitled "Arguments against Light" which appeared in the Cologne Zeitung in 1816 indicate the character of the objections raised against street-lighting.

From the theological standpoint: Artificial illumination is an attempt to interfere with the divine plan of the world, which has preordained darkness during the night-time.From the judicial standpoint: Those people who do not want light ought not to be compelled to pay for its use.From the medical standpoint: The emanations of illuminating gas are injurious. Moreover, illuminated streets would induce people to remain later out of doors, leading to an increase in ailments caused by colds.From the moral standpoint: The fear of darkness will vanish and drunkenness and depravity increase.From the viewpoint of the police: The horses will get frightened and the thieves emboldened.From the point of view of national economy: Great sums of money will be exported to foreign countries.From the point of view of the common people: The constant illumination of streets by night will rob festive illuminations of their charm.

The foregoing objections require no comment, for they speak volumes pertaining to the thoughts and activities of men a century ago. It is difficult to believe that civilization has traveled so far in a single century, but from this early beginning of street-lighting social progress received a great impetus. Artificial light-sources were feeble at that time, but they made the streets safer and by means of them social intercourse was extended. The people increased their hours of activity and commerce, industry, and knowledge grew apace.

The open gas-jet and kerosene-flame lamps held forth on the streets until within the memory of middle-aged persons of to-day. The lamplighter with his ladder is still fresh in memory. Many of the towns and villages have never been lighted by gas, for they stepped from the oil-lamp to the electric lamp. The gas-mantle has made it possible for gas-lighting to continue as a competitor of electric-lighting for the streets.

In 1877 Mr. Brush illuminated the Public Square of Cleveland with a number of arc-lamps, and these met with such success that within a short time two hundred and fifty thousand open-arc lamps were installed in this country, involving an investment of millions of dollars. Adding to this investment a much greater one in central-station equipment, a very large investment is seen to have resulted from this single development in lighting.

This open-arc lamp was the first powerful light-source available and, appearing several years before the gas-mantle, it threatened to monopolize street-lighting. It consumed about 500 watts and had a maximum luminous intensity of about 1200 candles at an angle of about 45 degrees. Its chief disadvantage was its distribution of light, mainly at this angle of 45 degrees, which resulted in a spot of light near the lamp and little light at a distance. A satisfactory street-lighting unit must emit its light chiefly just below the horizontal in those cases where the lamps must be spaced far apart for economical reasons. On referring to the chapter on the electric arc it will be seen that the upper (positive) carbon of the open-arc emits most of the light. Thus most of the light tends to be sent downward, but the lower carbon obstructs some of this with a resulting dark spot beneath the lamp.

The gas-mantle followed closely after the arrival of the carbon arc and is responsible for the existence of gas-lighting on the streets at the present time. It is a large source of light and therefore its light cannot be controlled by modern accessories as well as the light from smaller sources, such as the arc or concentrated-filament lamp. As a consequence, there is marked unevenness of illumination along the streets unless the gas-mantle units are spaced rather closely. Even with the open-arc, without special light-controlling equipment there is about a thousand times the intensity near the lamps when placed on the corners of the block as there is midway between them.

In 1879 the incandescent filament lamp was introduced and it began to appear on the streets in a short time. It was a feeble, inefficient light-source, compared with the arc-lamp, but it had the advantage of being installed on a small bracket. As a consequence of simplicity of operation, the incandescent lamp was installed to a considerable extent, especially in the suburban districts.

THE MOORE NITROGEN TUBE
In lobby of Madison Square Garden

CARBON-DIOXIDE TUBE FOR
ACCURATE COLOR-MATCHING

The open-arc lamp possessed the disadvantage of emitting a very unsteady light and of consuming the carbons so rapidly that daily trimming was often necessary. In 1893 the enclosed arc appeared and although it consumed as much electrical energy as the open-arc and emitted considerably less light, it possessed the great advantage of operating a week without requiring a renewal of carbons. By surrounding the arc by means of a glass globe, little oxygen could come in contact with the carbons and they were not consumed very rapidly. The light was fairly steady and these arcs operated satisfactorily on alternating current. The latter feature simplified the generating and distributing equipment of the central station.

The magnetite or luminous arc-lamp next appeared and met with considerable success. It was more efficient than the preceding lamps but was handicapped by being solely a direct-current device. Those familiar with the generation and distribution of electricity will realize this disadvantage. However, its luminous intensity just below the horizontal was about 700 candles and its general distribution of light was fairly satisfactory. Later the flame-arcs began to appear and they were installed to some extent. The arc-lamp has served well in street-lighting from the year 1877, when the open-arc was introduced, until the present time, when the luminous-arc is the chief survivor of all the arc-lamps.

MODERN STREET LIGHTING
Tunnels of light boring through the darkness provide safe channels for modern traffic

The carbon incandescent filament lamp was used extensively until 1909, when the tungsten filament lamp began to replace it very rapidly. However, it was not until 1914, when the gas-filled tungsten lamp appeared, that this type of light-source could compete with arc-lamps on the basis of efficiency. The helical construction of the filament made it possible to confine the filament of a high-intensity tungsten lamp in a small space and for the first time a high degree of control of the light of street lamps was possible. Prismatic "refractors" were designed, somewhat on the principle of the lighthouse refractor, so that the light would be emitted largely just below the horizontal. This type of distribution builds up the illumination at distant points between successive street lamps, which is very desirable in street-lighting. The incandescent filament lamp possesses many advantages over other systems. It is efficient; capable of subdivision; operates on direct and alternating current; requires little attention; and is capable of most successful use with light-controlling apparatus.

According to the reports of the Department of Commerce the number of electric arc-lamps for street-lighting supplied by public electric-light plants decreased from 348,643 in 1912 to 256,838 in 1917, while the number of electric incandescent filament lamps increased from 681,957 in 1912 to 1,389,382 in 1917.

Street-lighting is not only a reinforcement for the police but it decreases accidents and has come to be looked upon as an advertising medium. In the downtown districts the high-intensity "white-way" lighting is festive. The ornamental street lamps have possibilities in making the streets attractive and in illuminating the buildings. However, it is to be hoped that in the present age the streets of cities and towns will be cleared of the ragged equipment of the telephone and lighting companies. These may be placed in the alleys or underground, leaving the streets beautiful by day and glorified at night by the torches of advanced civilization.

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This book is part of the public domain. Matthew Luckiesh (2006). Artificial Light: Its Influence upon Civilization. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/17625/pg17625-images.html

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