Is the City Hoarding Historic Light Poles?

[drhandbook]

Rumor has it that the city has all of the light poles stored in some warehouse. Does anyone know anything about this? Is there anyway we could get those back from the city and relight our neighborhood?

[Tacachale]

I think they're being kept at the Devil School, or the Kingsley Plantation, whichever is more haunted.

Seriously though, I don't see the city paying to store something like that, unless they had only taken them down temporarily for restoration or something.

[Lunican]

Were street lights removed from somewhere and put into storage? I don't really understand the original post.

[Jumpinjack]

A few years ago I photographed historic light poles along Park Street through Brooklyn to Willowbranch Park. The COJ historic preservation department knows about these poles. I believe they have an inventory. You might check with them.
Photos here are clickable to enlarge.

[Debbie Thompson]

I've heard the same thing.  That the City bought enough historic light poles for all of Springfield years ago but didn't install them.

[thelakelander]

Are we talking about the real historic light poles (like the ones in the image above) or the newer faux duplicates?

[fsujax]

i think the original light poles.

[Noone]

A few years ago I photographed historic light poles along Park Street through Brooklyn to Willowbranch Park. The COJ historic preservation department knows about these poles. I believe they have an inventory. You might check with them.
Photos here are clickable to enlarge.

jumpinjack, Nice pics.

Does anyone have a pic of an old street car pole? Still asking about the pole behind the old St. Lukes hospital next to Hogans Creek and given its proximity to the railroad lines. Its not a light pole.

[Dog Walker]

The old ones still in place down Park St. have had their original tops removed and the modern "cobra" heads fastened to them.  Maybe they are storing some of the old tops along with the old fixtures that were removed from other places.  Park St. couldn't have been the only street with these fixtures.

Wonder what the tops looked like?  Anybody have any old pictures of Park St.?

[drhandbook]

To clarify, I am asking about the ones that once lined the streets in Springfield. (supposedly)

[thelakelander]

Don't know about their location today but they were still in place right up to the recent streetscape.  Here is a 2007 image of Main Street with one of those poles in the background.



Here is one on the corner of Main & 17th Street.

[Tacachale]

In a similar vein, does anyone know what became of the old horse hitching rails that were in front of Genovar's Hall in LaVilla?

[Ocklawaha]

Recently got the goods on the old bronze marker that once sat on the end of the original Lee Street Viaduct... It IS in storage too. Time to dig it out and rebuild that bridge like God Intended, as a gate to the city.

The old metal light poles might well date to the Jacksonville Traction Company era 1912-1936. Based on their shapes they probably didn't hold a bracket arm, rather they likely held a span wire system. We'd need to see the upper 5' - 10' feet and look for holes or mounting plates.

Lastly, the poles behind Old St. Luke's might well have been light poles for the railroad yard that once operated down along the creek. In fact TWO railroad yards. Most yards have some combination of street lights and stadium type lighting, while major ones are out and out day lighted.

Glendale California has a ton of those old poles in a storage yard visible from the train on the Burbank-Palmdale Metrolink Line. As the train rolls under a highway at about the junction of Glendale and Burbank City Limits, and there must be 10,000 of them. If Glendale has them, why not Jax?

OCKLAWAHA

[Noone]

Lastly, the poles behind Old St. Luke's might well have been light poles for the railroad yard that once operated down along the creek. In fact TWO railroad yards. Most yards have some combination of street lights and stadium type lighting, while major ones are out and out day lighted.



OCKLAWAHA

Ock, Good info. 1912-1936? That's cool. There is a cable line attached. Very faded 1" lettering on the front. For that time period a streetcar line that would bring people to the back of the hospital at the time when street cars were popular?

So you have the casket company building. Old St. Luke's hospital. Maxwell House. A vibrant working waterfront. Does MJ have the actual old streetcar line routes that existed in this city?

Is there a picture of a streetcar line pole anywhere in Jacksonville that is standing today?

Ock, lets make it happen and paddle Hogans Creek together. So much rail history at that spot. Even if it turns out to be an old railroad yard light pole.

[Jdog]

Historical lighting fixtures would be great on a public pier.  Wonder if there's anything that could be salvageable - and appropriate - from the inventory.