Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Low-Cost Lamp Post

Lamp post, Livorno“Piazza della Vittoria” was completely refurbished a few years ago with fine lawns, new benches, a zone reserved for dogs and some elegant old fashioned streetlights.Low-cost lamp posts, LivornoBut something strange is happening to these lights: an unknown hand is replacing the ornate posts with galvanized iron pipes and the lanterns with transparent globes.Lamp post base, LivornoLow-cost lamp post base, LivornoEroded by rust, a few years are already too much for many of the original posts, hence several have been replaced with the pipes. Budget restraints, lack of spare parts or a new no-frills style?

See also: Temporary Forever

27 comments:

brattcat said...

What a shame. The original design is so charming. The replacement...not so much.

Lowell said...

That's too bad. If the city fathers are suffering from the same maladies as our city fathers, it is probably due to what you call "budget restraints."

The first photo...I hate to say this but it looks almost identical to the light in front of our house!

Yikes! Maybe this house is older than I thought!

PJ said...

Oh, that's such a disappointment. You live in such a beautiful place, I hope they turn things around.

James said...

That's a shame. I like to see old street lamps. This gives me an idea to photograph as many as I can then do a lamp week or something. I hope that I can find some that haven't been refurbished.

Wolynski said...

Ugh, whose idea was this? They can't make a beautiful lamp post that will last?

B SQUARED said...

That is a tragedy. What a shame.

Kate said...

Your photo caught my eye because it looked modern and after looking closely it looked like the light was one of the energy bulbs.

joo said...

Let's hope they were just taken to renovation!
Well, I know I'm a bit naive but...who know?

Cezar and Léia said...

I agree with Brattcat, the original is so beautiful!Your pictures are great!
Léia

Andreea said...

What a pity. The old ones look a lot more interesting. Maybe they are being cleaned but I doubt it.

Hilda said...

Oh no. I like the old ones much better too! But how quickly they rusted. No wonder the ones that last get an annual fresh coat of paint.

Gunn said...

What a shame! :-(

Three Rivers, Michigan said...

Well that is shocking -- but they may have been rusted through and in danger of tipping over. Perhaps the pipe-and-globe arrangement is only temporary, while they repair the originals? In any case, it is nice to see the details of the originals in your photos.
Three Rivers Daily Photo

Halcyon said...

I'm sure it's budget restraints. Doesn't everything these days come down to money? Sad times...

Unknown said...

The first pedestal detail is beautiful! At least you managed to find one lamp in the old fashion way, maybe they will forget to replace this one...

cieldequimper said...

What a shame.
Are Livornese dogs like French dogs? Correction: are Livornese dog owners like French dog owners?

Fio said...

Che peccato...

stromsjo said...

I suppose the light from the new model is slightly better but otherwise it does sound like a turn for the worse.

VP said...

There is no glory in maintenance and this is true, more or less, almost everywhere.
Probably something more modest would have been better: we have a lot of quite good and weather resistant streetlights. You can see them in every picture of the canals, standing on the parapets.

Tinsie said...

Perhaps they're looking for a design that's more resilient to time (or the weather in any case)?

Anonymous said...

Oh dear! The charm of the older version is becoming completely lost with the new.

Kaori said...

awww the old lamps have so much more taste!

Stefan Jansson said...

That's not very good. The new lamps are really ugly.

Ilse said...

Maybe there should be some kind of a protest. Italy really must maintain a monopoly on charm & historical preservation.

VP said...

A friend (one of the several Stefanos) has just confirmed that the pipe-and-globe arrangement is temporary, while the original posts are being restored. This is a very good news.

cieldequimper said...

:-)

Copenhagen said...

It is too bad that some people have to ruin public place with graffiti.