Whether you have noticed them already or not, scattered around Cincinnati are these yellow lamps with a silver top, located on the islands of intersections. They are a piece of infrastructure from the Cincinnati Street Railway Company. The lights would mark streetcar stops, and they are on islands to save the rails from having to bend to the sidewalk. Originally, they hung above islands from the streetcar wire and were made of glass. Eventually, they became plastic and mounted on poles, and the Cincinnati Municipality took over the maintenance (when the Cincinnati Street Railway Company went bankrupt).
Now it is unclear if the Cincinnati Street Railway Company made the lights that exist today or reproductions made by the city. What is known is that the city does not add new lights to intersections. They also do not repair damaged or fallen lamps, except for rewiring bad connections or changing bulbs (the city occasionally contradicts this by replacing the fallen lamps). The lamps remaining are a finite amount. At the time of the project (2024), there were 39 lights left. Compared to the map made by CB Fellerhoff in 2018, there were 69 left. The lamp's obsolescence is imminent.
Now it is unclear if the Cincinnati Street Railway Company made the lights that exist today or reproductions made by the city. What is known is that the city does not add new lights to intersections. They also do not repair damaged or fallen lamps, except for rewiring bad connections or changing bulbs (the city occasionally contradicts this by replacing the fallen lamps). The lamps remaining are a finite amount. At the time of the project (2024), there were 39 lights left. Compared to the map made by CB Fellerhoff in 2018, there were 69 left. The lamp's obsolescence is imminent.