http://www.theatlanticcities.com/techno ... /4900/%20f

Some of us have joked before now about lighting towns with massive towers looming over the area and shedding light onto several streets below... well it seems this was tried out in the early days of street lighting in America. Does make sense really for the Americans to have taken something like lighting a street to massive proportions!

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These things survive in Austin, Texas. Apparently some of Detroit's Moonlight Towers were sold and 17 survive still, running MBF these days.


I've found some images.

Photo of how they looked in Detroit:
http://detroithistorical.files.wordpres ... light2.jpg

A Moontower in Austin
http://50states.s3.amazonaws.com/189_1_1024.jpg

Close up, Unlit
http://moonlighttowerbrewing.com/wp-con ... Tower3.jpg

Video of them, really fascinating.
http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/aust ... -come-down

I find it amusing that these towers have the US equivalent of Albanies fitted - they get everywhere! More likely these are the original lanterns rather than replacements though, but I still find it intriguing that these are still in use.

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Do you reckon this is from one? (one of the 'favourite' UKASTLE retweets) I only ask as the lantern looks particularly big.

Southgate underground station in the UK was built in 1933 and surviving station lighting resembles  'moon towers' (small ones at least):
Lit up at night
Day burning
Close-up

I didn't know that we had Moon Towers over here.

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From streetlighting to radio, dance through the night whilst the streetlights are glowing outside.

Aren't those Southgate ones Listed, or something along those lines...?

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They are indeed, according to this interesting article (which describes the installations as 'pylons')