Ancient Hempstead Turnpike Twin Lampposts

East Meadow by Sleepy's
Photo Gallery Streetlights

Old poles never die - they just end up in the worn out divider islands of even more worn out parking lots of even more worn out shopping strips in the most well heeled neighborhoods. I don't know how that declaration works for most places on earth, but it certainly would stand up to challenge on Long Island, where some of the best time-forgotten street lighting specimens can still be found on the private property of business and institutional facilities. This run of four rusting stems watch over the shoppers of a discount shoe store and well known mattress chain Sleepy's, and with their mildly listing posture certainly give this little strip of NY State Route 24, AKA Hempstead Turnpike, a sleepy look. My fiance and I stopped to capture them for posterity after enjoying doughnut break at the nearby Krispy Kreme. YUM! I'm not altogether sure that these poles won't actually outlast posterity. Is it considered okay grammar to spell doughnut "donut"?

For lack of definitive facts, I'll wager that these classic braced uplift-type masts once held bullet nosed teardrop pendant luminaire cousins of the ubiquitous "Gumball" personified by such many-varied models as the General Electric Form 79's. Today they forge a path through a new millennium with high pressure sodium "Bucket" lamps, which have replaced so many pendant style lamps. The new millennium may also be bringing new plant life-forms along for the ride. Sharing the median strip with these old poles is one of the strangest young trees I've ever seen. Actually, my love noticed it first. Ever see a tree growing so many branches so low to the ground?

© 2003, Jeff Saltzman.