Street Light Technical Information Willis Lamm   Identifying Early Street Light Manufacturers

Oftentimes collectors and enthusiasts have difficulty identifying the manufacturers of early street lights. Many times the only clues are stamped into aluminum or ceramic elements of the luminaire, or show up in faded ink on porcelain bodies or reflectors. This page is presented to aid in the identification of these fixtures. Some of the logos may be familiar, and some not so familiar. Additional logos will be presented once I get clear images of them to post.

General Electric Company Most luminaires and refractors display the classic GE logo. Some pendant NEMA fixtures are more difficult to identify. One clue is a unique thread casting with two flat facets instead of the more common hex collar for tightening the luminaire. (See GE Form 79SO for details.)

Hartford-Faence Hartford-Faence typically had their trade name embossed on the aluminum reflector mounting collars that fit to their porcelain lamp bodies. However the easiest way to spot a Hartford-Faence luminaire is by the insulator that sits atop the fixture's slip fitter, perched at an approximate 45 degree angle.

Joslyn Manufacturing Joslyn consistently places it's script J on a shield logo on its housings and glass refractors. The shield on which the "J" appears may be narrow and vertical, or round in shape. Joslyn reflectors for their pendant globes were generally not ribbed such as found with GE or Line Material Co. reflectors, but were smooth like Westinghouse reflecters except that Joslyns had two circumferential indented rings on the reflector housings.

Line Material Company Line Material equipment typically displays the company's LM initials inside a triangle inside a circle logo somewhere on the housing and glass refractor. Fixtures manufactured after 1957 typically include a label that reads, "Line Material Manufacturing, a McGraw-Edison Company."

Westinghouse Westinghouse luminaires typically have "Westinghouse Made In USA" cast in letters or have the classic Westinghouse underlined W logo in a circle. Logos on products made before 1960 had broader strokes on the W without the balls on the tips. The housings for gumballs and teardrops were typically cast aluminum with polished aluminum inserts. Reflectors attached to classic luminaire heads using a twist-lock mechanism that was held with a set screw. Later Westinghouse adopted the NEMA "latch-on" standard and some reflectors had ribs similar to GE and Line Material reflectors.

Wheeler - Boston Wheeler luminaires typically had Wheeler - Boston embossed somewhere on the aluminum housings. Wheeler reflectors were typically painted gray on their tops. Wheeler's "crescent moon" type cutoff reflectors also were very distinctive in their design. Older Wheeler heads were somewhat "onion" shaped while later model heads were of the more customary straight "can" design.

This page is still under development. More identification information will be added. We're also working on identifying the top colors found on radial wave reflectors with their respective manufacturers. Feel free to Contact Me with any information not already posted here: .

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