The Common Positioning of Lamp Posts

Lamp Post Tradition

• Lamp posts originated as simple devices to support a lantern or lamp. Many of these lanterns used gas or other fuel to light up streets in towns worldwide. In Japan and China, stone lanterns and oil lamps were common. Lamplighters used long sticks containing wicks to light the gas lamps at dusk and extinguish them in the morning. In the 1880s, electric lighting replaced the old gas lights.

Lamp Posts in Public Areas

• In modern cities and towns, lamp posts are still seen lining streets to provide illumination at night. Some are designed to resemble antique lamp posts to give the area a charming, small town feeling. Lamp posts are also used in parking lots, country clubs and amusement parks for the safety of visitors. Restaurants often place a lamp post near the entrance to assist diners, and they're commonly used in shopping center parking lots. Because lamp posts come in a variety of finishes, they can be made to blend with the style of the structures they're illuminating.

Residential Lamp Posts

• Private homeowners use lamp posts to add curb appeal to their home and provide illumination of entrance doorways and walkways. Positioning a lamp post or a pair of lamp posts along the path leading to the home can make a high-impact visual impression and add distinction to the entryway. The lamp post is sometimes placed right at the curb or along the driveway for a similar effect. Homeowners enjoy the increased security provided by additional light outside the home.

Garden Lamp Posts

• Many people have begun placing lamp posts among the plants and trees of a landscaped area around a home, office complex or restaurant. Landscape lighting is sometimes used to highlight a specimen tree or an interesting landscaped area. Using landscape lighting can provide safety by brightening a walkway or illuminating a railing or stone retaining wall. Newer solar lamp posts make for easier installation, as the units collect and store their own power. People who enjoy outdoor living can take advantage of well-lit outdoor spaces by using strategically placed lamp posts.