Hanson, MA, c.1965. Electric Distribution Pole with Early Mercury Vapor Street Light

By Joe Maurath, Jr.; posted December 30, 2021

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The forementioned fixture was made by the Wheeler Reflector Company (they also were in Hanson, MA). It had a Wheeler-patented crescent-shaped porcelain enamel reflector with unique stainless steel strips on each of the shade's lower edges to optimize light distribution. This fixture had a 100 watt mercury vapor lamp in it and was among the first street lighting fixtures in the industry that utilized such lamps. This was an all-in-one luminaire whereby the ballast (transformer) for operating the mercury lamp also was mounted inside the fixture head along with a tube-powered photoelectric lighting control atop it. All of these features were cutting-edge when this light was made (between 1954 and 1958). In subsequent years other manufacturers followed up by offering similar fixture designs.

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