[MassHistPres] Reproduction Historic Street Lamps

[Galer, Greg]

Give Tom Perkins at the Henry Perkins Co. in Bridgewater a call. (http://www.henryperkinsco.com/)
 
This is an old family-run company doing casting the old fashioned way with modern metallurgical capabilities.  Tom is a great guy and 5th generation in the business.  He has experience in a variety of work from components for modern hi-tech machinery to historic reproductions.
 
Greg Galer
Easton Historical Commission

________________________________

From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu on behalf of Suzanne W Pelton
Sent: Sun 3/15/2009 5:30 PM
To: MassHistPres MA
Subject: [MassHistPres] Reproduction Historic Street Lamps


Hello Again,

Thank you to those of you who offered words of wisdom regarding replicating historic street lamps. 
Margaret Alexander (East Bridgewater Historical Commission) suggested  Alloy Castings in East Bridgewater--they can do what we're looking for. It seems that our Town Manager was just talking to a company that sells new streetlights and according to them old lights don't meet "code." 

Michele P. Barker, Circuit Rider at Preservation Massachusetts, talked to the State Hwy Dept and couldn't find anything on state "codes" for lights. She suggested "it could very well be that someone is quoting an industry 'standard' which does not have any regulatory weight." 

When we dug a little farther with an engineering firm we learned that different companies have different specs. It didn;t seem to matter when we pointed out that the few remaining original Westinghouse lights have been standing for 95 years and no piece of any of the original lamps ever fell off and hurt anyone or anything.

So, now we're looking for the names of 2 more reproduction companies, so we can get bids on reproduction streetlights from three companies. 

Thank you, and we'll let you know how this works out.

Suzanne Pelton
Lenox Historical Commission

Begin forwarded message:


	From: Suzanne W Pelton <sw.pelton at verizon.net>
	Date: March 9, 2009 10:42:47 AM EDT
	To: MassHistPres MA <masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
	Subject: [MassHistPres] Replicas of Historic Street Lamps

	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 

	 <https://webmail.stonehill.edu/exchange/sihc/Drafts/sc00494d0c.jpg> 
	
	Westinghouse Streelamp-Lenox


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