[MassHistPres] Replicas of Historic Street Lamps

[Dennis De Witt]

What code are you referring to?

Dennis De Witt


On Mar 9, 2009, at 10:42 AM, Suzanne W Pelton wrote:

> 1914 George Westinghouse, a resident in Lenox since 1887, donated  
> 149 street lamps to the town and sold them electricity from his  
> newly formed Lenox Electric Co. Most of the lamps in the village  
> were taken down and replaced with cobra highway lights in the 1980's  
> in a cost saving measure. Since then, the Lenox Historical  
> Commission has been working to have exact replicas re-installed to  
> restore the historic look to our village. Seven original lamps are  
> still functioning on outlying streets and a  dozen more are standing  
> in various states of disrepair.
>
> In 2008 the Community Preservation Committee accepted our proposal  
> and recommended at Town Meeting, to put $50,000 toward erecting  
> replicas of the Westinghouse street lamp. Residents approved the  
> measure. The Town also passed a bond issue to redesign and re- 
> landscape the main commercial street, with 22 Westinghouse street  
> lamps. In addition, the Lenox Historical Commission raised $25,000  
> from local merchants for the same purpose.
>
> Now we have learned that Massachusetts codes dictate alterations to  
> the original design: 5" diam. pole rather than the 3" and 4" coupled  
> pole of the Westinghouse lamp.
>
> Our questions:
> 	Is there a variance for historic replicas?
> 	What about the funds: can the funds raised/appropriated for a  
> replica be spent for lamps that are NOT 			replicas?
>
> We would appreciate any experience/information you can share with us.
> Suzanne W Pelton
> Lenox Historical Commission, Secy
>
> <sc00494d0c.jpg>
> Westinghouse Streelamp-Lenox
>
>
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