A fascinating question about light poles.

[nain rouge]

In random neighborhoods on the east and west sides, you'll see blocks of homes with small light poles in the front yard, black with a white plastic orb on top. The materials are about as basic as possible, but it looks decent at night.

Now my question is: why and how? Is this part of some citywide beautification effort? Does someone hook up block clubs with these poles at discount rates? Why this identical design all over the city in the most unexpected spots?

EXPLAIN!

[DetroitPlanner]

Yes it was private businesses working with block clubs in the late 1970's. The neighborhood I grew up in has several blocks like this.

To be honest I don't find that fascinating in the least!

[MikeM]

Weren't those part of a crime prevention plan?

[Meddle]

I don't know if it's the same thing or not, but you'll find a lot of houses that converted gas lights to electric.

[DetroitPlanner]

It was sold as being safer.

The area I lived in was built in the late 1940's well after gas lights were abandoned. The lights were never there prior and installed as part of a block-wide acceptance. They were not converted.

[Dan Wesson]

It was sold as being safer.

Exactly, it was that. Some were block club associations, some were Community Church associations. All were promoted by Law Enforcement. About that same time it was coupled with signs in the windows of a home that would denote a helping hand if one was in need of help.

It didn't spread far and wide. Only in areas with concerned folk and decent housing. It wasn't free.

[nain rouge]

Wow, DetroitPlanner. Your genius continues unabated. You wouldn't happen to know any of the companies involved in this scheme, would you? I'd love to track down a newspaper article on this subject [[you'd think someone wrote about it). It's one of those random bits of trivia that intrigue me.

[Honky Tonk]

Wow, DetroitPlanner. Your genius continues unabated. You wouldn't happen to know any of the companies involved in this scheme, would you? I'd love to track down a newspaper article on this subject [[you'd think someone wrote about it). It's one of those random bits of trivia that intrigue me.

Originally it was MichCon. [[notice the "con" in the name) later, Detroit Edison. I remember getting bills in the mail, and there was a colored, glossy, brochure in the envelope, touting the benefits of the lighting. BUT, besides the "safety" aspect, neighborhoods formed "Block Clubs" in an attempt to uplift and beautify their blocks, by buying and using these lights. It really did look neat @ the time. House after house, block after block, everyone had a globe light in front of it. Looked like people cared about their neighborhood. Detroit wasn't in as bad of shape as it is these days.

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

I've actually wondered about this issue. So many identical [[but not very attractive) yard lights, and somewhat oddly placed in the center of yards - as opposed to by ealks or driveways

[DetroitPlanner]

Wow, DetroitPlanner. Your genius continues unabated. You wouldn't happen to know any of the companies involved in this scheme, would you? I'd love to track down a newspaper article on this subject [[you'd think someone wrote about it). It's one of those random bits of trivia that intrigue me.

I was about 8 when this happened. I'm old; but I ain't that old! It has nothing to to with genius, it has to to with observing the built environment and being sedentary!

As John Lennon crooned on Double Fantasy:
"I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round, really love to watch them roll"

[Hamtragedy]

LJ Lawnlight was on McNichols near Greenfield, next to a vacuum cleaner repair shop, where they shared the building. Not sure if they're open any more, but they were happy to sell you a rebuilt transformer for 75 bucks after someone stuck a regular light bulb in the fixture instead of a 24 volt bulb, which they also sold for $8 apiece.

We had them install several "carriage type" fixtures, in front and back on different houses along Evergreen and in Minock park, as recently as 10 yrs ago.

[Wesley Mouch]

I also remember this program. Those lights were ugly when installed. But any 1970s kitchen you see today also looks ugly. Times change. Tastes change.

I have no knowledge here, but it would be typical for Edison & the PD in concert to have simply chosen an attractive, fairly standard fixture from a large manufacturer and perhaps set a installation price. I assume Edison contributed to this, funded by the long-term revenue from electric consumption. Back then, Edison also gave away light bulbs to drive consumption. They also were an electric appliance retail store.

[Honky Tonk]

I also remember this program. Those lights were ugly when installed. But any 1970s kitchen you see today also looks ugly. Times change. Tastes change.

I have no knowledge here, but it would be typical for Edison & the PD in concert to have simply chosen an attractive, fairly standard fixture from a large manufacturer and perhaps set a installation price. I assume Edison contributed to this, funded by the long-term revenue from electric consumption. Back then, Edison also gave away light bulbs to drive consumption. They also were an electric appliance retail store.

I forgot about that. I remember getting on a Detroit bus with my Dad, and taking a large brown paper grocery bag to the Edison outlet for the bulb exchange.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Originally it was MichCon. [[notice the "con" in the name) later, Detroit Edison. I remember getting bills in the mail, and there was a colored, glossy, brochure in the envelope, touting the benefits of the lighting. BUT, besides the "safety" aspect, neighborhoods formed "Block Clubs" in an attempt to uplift and beautify their blocks, by buying and using these lights. It really did look neat @ the time. House after house, block after block, everyone had a globe light in front of it. Looked like people cared about their neighborhood. Detroit wasn't in as bad of shape as it is these days.

Good call, Honky Tonk.

[downtownguy]

In our west side neighborhood, it was touted by MichCon. As I recall, ours had 4 individual plates of glass to form a rectangle so you could see the gas flame burning inside. It had some kind of wick that would occasionally get damaged and we would have to replace it.

[DetroitPlanner]

In our west side neighborhood, it was touted by MichCon. As I recall, ours had 4 individual plates of glass to form a rectangle so you could see the gas flame burning inside. It had some kind of wick that would occasionally get damaged and we would have to replace it.

You must have lived in a fancier hood than Franklin Park. All of ours were white globes atop a black stick!

[Scottathew]

I love the neighborhoods that have these. During the holidays I've seen entire blocks wrap up the light globes in a tinted plastic, it was either a red or pink tint.

[SWMAP]

I think they are so tacky. If my block had a hope that everyone would have this glaring regimental look I would have been a black hole in the plan.
In the days before the energy crisis, I saw some installations that were gas and placed near the porch, not smack dab in the middle of a city lawn. THOSE were nicer. The flame flickered attractively and created a soft, yellow aura.
But glaring, electric bulbs [[usually high wattage) are just awful. Garish is a word created for the effect of the gauntlet of lawn lights.
That's why you don't see them in snootier neighborhoods.

[Honky Tonk]

In our west side neighborhood, it was touted by MichCon. As I recall, ours had 4 individual plates of glass to form a rectangle so you could see the gas flame burning inside. It had some kind of wick that would occasionally get damaged and we would have to replace it.

Are you sure you grew up in Detroit???????? Sorry, black sticks, white globes. The "wick" was little mesh bag that filled with gas, slowly releasing the gas through the mesh. When lit, the little "bag" glowed. Coleman gas lanterns used a similar type wick.

[corktownyuppie]

Good call, Honky Tonk.

I grew up near Morang and Kelly in 48205 until the neighborhood started to get sketchy and we moved in the mid-80s. Our whole block had that light and it really did look cool when everyone had them on. It made Saratoga look like a walkable well-lit campus.

[Dan Wesson]

Them lights were the early version of "Target Hardening", a term used by Law enforcement. Now days it's cameras, motion detectors and alarms.

Boris the Burglar made his debut around that time.

[5speedz34]

We had two of the balls[[albeit disconnected) and spray painted orange marking our property up north since I was a little kid and heard they came from our house in Detroit. Didn't even think twice about them until I moved back down here as and adult and realized it was part of a citywide movement. I actually think in some neighborhoods they look pretty good.

[EastsideAl]

Are you sure you grew up in Detroit???????? Sorry, black sticks, white globes. The "wick" was little mesh bag that filled with gas, slowly releasing the gas through the mesh. When lit, the little "bag" glowed. Coleman gas lanterns used a similar type wick.

I believe he's talking about something that looked kind of like this [[although a bit plainer):



A lot of houses in nicer neighborhoods in Detroit had these gas lamps on their lawns back when I was growing up in the '60s, including my family's house and my grandparents' house. They were short [[about 6 ft. tall? - I was little...) and sold by Michigan Consolidated Gas as something that would make your house look classy and would light up the darkness between the sidewalk and your house, thus making your home safer.

We would play kickball and football and other games in our yard, and if you hit one of these lamps with the ball the gas "mantles" [[round hanging wicks) would often break, occasioning much grumbling from the neighborhood dads. I believe MichCon stopped servicing them sometime in the early '70s and they began to fade away.

But local businesses and neighborhood and block clubs, looking to enhance neighborhood safety and cohesion, prevailed upon MichCon to start installing gas lawn lamps again for group purchases in larger numbers. Soon, the gas company bowed out again and electric fixtures replaced the gas ones. The new fixtures installed were of the globe variety, and a lot of the older gas fixtures with the square tops were replaced with the globes.

[old guy]

Wow, that's fascinating that they were using gas lamps in the 60's. Coleman didn't actually produce production yard lamp lights in the 60's. They also never used a design similar to those. I've never seen anything like that from that era. Interesting. I'm assuming it was from a local company.

[EastsideAl]

Here is what I believe is an early 70s shot of an Indian Village house with exactly the type of lamp I was trying to describe in front of it: