Omaha daily bee., 1905-06-09
LIGHTING CITY STREETS.
A New Idea Given Practical Eject
I'm Denver.
Paul Thieman in Denver Post.

IN denver.
Paul Thieman in Denver Post.
The hundreds of delegates to the con-
vention of the National Electric Light
association are invited to look upon the
beginning Of the truly artistic street light
ing idea or the country-an idea. to the best
of the Posts belief, originating in Denver.
All lighting experts know the splendid
effect of the closely set gas lamps of the
Partisan boulevards-they form miles on
miles of yellow lights so close together
that. simply as an unbroken uniformity.
they are spectacle in themselves, in no
measure, however, detracting by fierce
light, from the architectural beauty of the
avenues illuminated.
The most beautiful capitals. of the world
are lighted by gas-not by arc lights. As
mere tribute to the truth il must he
said that the idea of avenues Illuminated
by glaring arc lights is peculiar to the
small towns of western America and Aus
tralta and South Africa The beautiful
and great cities of the world do not take
to that garish form OF street illumination.
though it is considered metropolitan by the
persons who never lived in or apprecia ted
large city. The man who is devoid of
experience in the big city assumes naturally
that the glaring and garish arc lamps of
an Idaho mining town are the metropolitan n
features of the world-and, of course, the
real thing for Denver.
That is because he believes II is the
latest If we-way out west-have any vir-
tue. it is the profound belief in what we
regard as the latest. But, in this particular
instance, we learn that what was consid-
cred to be the latest, is not the latest
Arc lamps are a splendid thing in the small
fnu 80 H. .t.....
Australia and Africa-lnking them to the
big outside world-but they won't do in
Paris, New York or Denver!
OF course no form of lighting is better
for the small, primitive town than the So
called 2.OOO-candle power electric lamp.
But, in the great cities 1t has been found
necessary to reduce that tremendous lamp
in candle power-or glaring spot effect
great spot lights destroy the splendid
vistas of costly-millions costly-thorough-
fares, and so the illumination of the great
cities either is gas or electric lights in
opaque globes. The reasons are simple:
First-Uniformity
Second-Making the vista of the street
prominent rather than any particular
building.
Third-Beautiful streets-as a whole-as
city.
1t is customary to look only at the garish
power of the light and everywhere in the
United States, gas pipe or rude iron
arm is considered good enough to hold an
arc light in a ground glass globe-they
used to be in clear glass globes.
The light effect may be all right-with
Opaque globes-but in the daytime the
coarse iron arms, attached to beautiful
facades, destroy architectural beauty!
We have started in Denver the idea of
the electric lamps being hung from ar
tistic fixtures. At the corner of Seven
teenth and Curtis streets the first of these
beautiful wrought iron designs are being
put in place. The light is no greater, but
il is artistic in its treatment!
Seventeenth street, in Denver. will be
lined from the Union depot to the Brown
Palace hotel with artistic standards and
hangers making the avenue beautiful by
day as we'll as brilliantly lighted by night.
II is being done at private expense-not
at the city's cost-and the scheme is the
forerunner of the demand that city light
masts and trolley poles must be beautiful!
Rude lighting effects would give more
glaring light, but the great new idea is
TO make the design decorative in daylight
and not garish by night
Most big lighting schemes are hideous
by day,
The latest Denver idea is to line it's busi-
ness streets with works of art in wrought
iron-as handsome as interior fiXtures-that
will be a delight to the eye by day as well
as the standard holding forth brilliant
lamps by night!
BY autumn there will be 100 such wrought
iron standards along Seventeenth street.
costing sl5,Oo0-well spent-from the Union
station to the Brown Palace hotel begin
ming with the electric and bronze wei
come Gate"
And it was invented by lawysr-not
lighting expertl