Hello Lamppost, Whacha Knowin'? Des Plaines Street Lights

By the end of the year, expect to see 90 new ornamental streetlights throughout the downtown area. 80% of this $1.2 million project is funded by a grant from the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program; the remainder is funded through TIF 1. There hasn't been any official word on what these lamps will look like; in that light, let's look at the streetlights that have been used downtown in the past.

These were the first, placed on Ellinwood Street around 1915.

This is the only example of this light, which was placed outside the Gillespie Printery building on Miner street around 1913.

These attractive lights were downtown Des Plaines' standard from 1926-1956. The Spanish-style lantern atop a concrete base was modern but still fit in well with the architecture of the city, particularly the Spanish style Des Plaines Theatre and Des Plaines State Bank. Later, around 1946, some of the broken lanterns were replaced by "Acorn" style globes. These standards were all removed in 1954 as these pedestrian-scaled lights were replaced by tall highway lights.

The mercury vapor lights to the left went up soon thereafter. While they were very modern in design, they didn't do much for the sidewalk experience; just shiny poles. This type of light is for lighting the street, not the sidewalk. Inexplicably, one of these still exists at the corner of Ellinwood and Pearson. These were in turn replaced by the similar, but even taller, sodium vapor lights to the right in the mid-80s.

So in the mid-1990s the city installed many of this style light in parts of downtown. While not unattractive, this style light tries to look old-fashioned but isn't; you can see many similar lights in shopping centers across the country. Worse, the acorn tops aren't energy-efficient; light shines in all directions, adding to light pollution in the sky while doing a poor job of lighting the sidewalk. The paint on these lights is fading and the globes are discoloring.

These lights are only in Metropolitan Square. They light the street and sidewalk somewhat better than the acorns, and they're not as tall as the Cobras. But they have that fake old-style look, too.

 Then there were these, used at the C&NW stations.
 
And the earliest lights of all

New Streetlights, Street Furniture Coming to Oakton, Lee, and Miner

Anything is an improvement, and will make the streets more pedestrian-friendly.

Except past reports have said that the lights they plan to use are the Acorn-stlye ones in Metropolitan Square. Wouldn't it make more sense to use replicas of the lights that actually were downtown from the 1910s-1950s (like these - the same kind you'll find in places like Evanston and Lake Forest), and Modern style lights that evoke the 40s and 50s on Oakton, instead of Metropolitan Square Acorn lights that evoke a brand-new (or is it bland-new?) shopping center? Has this process been consistent with the recommendations of the city's 2005 Design Guidelines? What does the upcoming Form-Based Zoning Code have to say about streetscape design?

To make these improvements work to their full potential, they need to be well-thought out and consistent with a larger plan. Look around downtown and it's obvious what happens when you try to do these things piecemeal, as we've been doing over the last 40 years: inconsistency, inefficiency when everything gets replaced again to match to the newest idea, and a cobbled-together appearance.

State Grant To Help Revamp Downtown DP, Oakton St.
via journal-topics.com on 9/11/09

Downtown Des Plaines and a section along Oakton Street will take on a new and fresher look beginning next spring thanks to $1 million in planned lighting and beautification improvements. Aldermen Tuesday night agreed to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the Illinois Dept. of Transportation that calls for the awarding of an $800,000 state grant. That money, along with an additional $200,000 in city funds will pay for a number of improvements in the downtown area along Miner and Lee streets and on Oakton Street.

According to Tim Oakley, Des Plaines' director of engineering and public works, planned work calls for the installation of new ornamental light poles on both sides of Miner Street and Lee Street in the central business district along with the placement of new lawn furniture such as benches and trash cans.

The same kind of furniture will be placed along Oakton Street, although it is not yet known how much money will be available for that. The city's $200,000 contribution will come from funds on deposit in its downtown Tax Increment Financing Dist. No. 1 fund.

Oakley said formal bids will be sought in November with work scheduled for next spring.

During the last few years, the city has made a number of downtown beautification improvements including a new park setting east of the Des Plaines Public Library and quicker removal of trash.

Des Plaines Sprouts New Newspaper Racks

After years of debate (these were first proposed in the 2005 Design Guidelines and are one of the only changes to be actually implemented), the sidewalks of downtown Des Plaines have finally sprouted consolidated newspaper boxes.


They're nothing fancy, but it's always good to see an improvement - however minor - in the downtown streetscape.

(photo by Adolfo Mendez)