Vintage Streetlights of Palm Haven . . .   

The history and the journey to bring them back to life!

When Palm Haven opened in 1913, the lighting provided in the public areas at night were provided by the Mission-Revival styled pillars adorned with lanterns. They were called "electroliers" and that is the official name of lighting used for streets by departments of transportation in cities across America today.

Streetlamps designed expressly for illuminating streets for safer automobile travel were one of the many new things that were introduced as the automobile gained in popularity in the early 1900s.

There are four vintage streetlamps in Palm Haven that are a result of newer designs that provided better nighttime illumination. The style of the poles and ornamentation match those that were common in the 1920s. Those in Palm Haven may have been installed either when Palm Haven was annexed into the City of San Jose in 1922 or upon adoption of the Municipal Lighting Maintenance District Act of 1927.

They are located along Palm Haven Avenue at the intersections of Hartford Avenue, Clintonia Avenue, and Plaza Drive where two are located at each corner of the public Plaza.

The photo at left was taken in the late 1920s. The streetlamp was installed right next to the pillar in the Plaza. Choosing this location made little sense from either an aesthetic or lighting point of view since the pillar lanterns were right underneath. It was likely the result of streetlight crews looking for the nearest power source at the intersection and found it at the pillar. Claire Wolfe, who lived at 704 Palm Haven Avenue off-camera, poses.

The photo at upper-right is of the renovated streetlamp completed in 2005. The SJ DOT determined that the pole of the original streetlamp at Clintonia Avenue had accumulated enough rust that it warranted replacement. New streetlamps are designed very different from poles in the early 1900s. The DOT needed a standard pole that would mount to an appropriate foundation and be maintainable under their normal streetlight maintenance program.

The Palm Haven Restoration Committee (PHRC) did not want to lose the vintage original streetlamp with its ornate scrollwork and cast leaves. A compromise was struck with the SJ DOT to obtain a new pole with standard mounts but engineered to accept the vintage original "candy-cane" arm with all of its ornamentation. A standard new head was needed for today's light bulbs but that would mount to the vintage arm. The DOT paid for the pole and head and PHRC paid to have the vintage original arm restored.

This sounds simple but was far from it. Newer poles are typically aluminum. The vintage pole was steel and therefore much heavier. The way the vintage arm was attached to the pole was very different from today's standards. The lighting manufacturer, Sternberg Lighting, was called in for the job. They have been manufacturing streetlamps since 1923 and remarked that our vintage poles looked like some that they manufactured back in the early days. Some parts were shipped to the manufacturer in order to make matching threaded fittings so the new head would mount to the vintage arm. The aluminum pole was reinforced internally to handle more weight.

Finally, the pole needed to hold street signs. PHRC had developed a Streetscape Plan that called for replacing all street signs with signs that reflected the ornamentation of the vintage streetlamps and were more appropriate to a Historic Conservation Area rather than the standard utilitarian signs used throughout the city. The success of this vintage look and polish called for the signs to be end-mounted with decorative brackets rather than using the steel straps that are typically used by the DOT.

Detail note: The close-up photo at right is of the original arm at Hartford Avenue. Notice the light sensor mounted on top of the candy-cane arm. This is not original and was likely added in the 1960s when the head was changed. The renovated streetlamp had this light sensor removed since today's heads have the light sensor integrated. Another detail to note is the scrollwork is slightly different on this streetlamp from the others in Palm Haven.

This detail proved even more challenging. The signs originally ordered were chosen because they were exact replicas of signs used in the early 1900s. However, before the pole was finished the sign manufacturer discontinued the signs. The reason? They were manufacturing them using the same original equipment used in the early 1900s. Their machines had failed and there were no more parts available. So PHRC looked for a suitable replacement sign. The signs chosen are cast aluminum and have the bracket in a one-piece assembly. It includes scrollwork and a more stylized vintage type for the letters. This sign had the most in common with the vintage original arms of what was available at the time.
But in order for the pole to be prepared for end-mounting the new signs, it had to be reinforced and threaded with the correct dimensions to accept a special SJ DOT bolt that is tamper resistant.

All of this detail engineering and planning took a full year to complete. In addition to careful coordination with the DOT, the project involved the coordination of the efforts of eight different companies from manufacturers to distributors to restorers.

The payoff? Well, the pole really looks wonderful now with all of its ornamentation. The base chosen has a historic style. Other bases closer to the original design were considered but they were much more expensive and not within the DOT budget. But the base is historically accurate and PHRC felt it was a good choice.  They are identical to the vintage lamps installed at the old railroad bridge across Santa Clara Avenue in San Jose next to the Diridon train station and San Jose Arena. Those were manufactured by Sternberg as well.

The black and white photo at left, circa 1920s to 1930s, is of another vintage streetlamp originally on Hawthorne Avenue in San Jose. This streetlamp bears a remarkable resemblance to those in Palm Haven excepting the bell-shaped head.

Today, this vintage streetlamp is gone and a less ornate standard pole sits in its place. SJ DOT crews indicate they know of no other streetlamps like those in Palm Haven. They may be the last vintage "candy-cane" streetlamp survivors in the entire city.

This is not entirely by accident:

In the 1970s, Palm Haven residents came home one day to find that the vintage streetlamp at Clintonia Avenue had been removed. Infuriated residents called the city, PG&E and anyone they could to find out what happened and why. The issue made it to the evening news on local television stations and the mayor of San Jose found himself apologizing for the "mistake" and told crews to return the streetlamp to its home. It turns out the streetlamp was found in the backyard of the maintenance worker who cut it down. He was required to weld the pole back into place and the pole showed that weld for another 30 years until 2004 when the SJ DOT determined that it was no longer safe enough to leave in place.

So the "journey" here illustrates the strength and determination of Palm Haven residents over the years to preserve its special connection to the heritage of San Jose. Now that the first streetlamp has been renovated, it should last another 80 years or so. The remaining three vintage streetlamps will be renovated in the same way when the SJ DOT determines the poles must be replaced and it fits within their budget.