History of street lighting in the United States

Benjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity from the Sky, by Benjamin West (c. 1816, Philadelphia Museum of Art) portrays Founding Father Benjamin Franklin's interest in harnessing nature to improve the lives of his fellow human beings.

The history of street lighting in the United States is closely linked to the urbanization of America. Artificial illumination has stimulated commercial activity at night, and has been tied to the country's economic development, including major innovations in transportation, particularly the growth in automobile use.[1] In the two and a half centuries before LED lighting emerged as the new "gold standard",[2] cities and towns across America relied on oil, coal gas, carbon arc, incandescent, and high-intensity gas discharge lamps for street lighting.

  1. ^ Jakle, John A. (2001). City Lights: Illuminating the American Night. Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 2–3, 21–24, 26–28, 31, 40–41, 47–48, 50–51, 73, 75–76, 82–85. ISBN 080186593X.
  2. ^ Jackson, Mike (January 10, 2019). "A Visual History of Streetlighting from the 19th and 20th Centuries". Architect Magazine. Retrieved June 24, 2022.