Last change: June 29 2025
LA pics 2008 onwards
11 pics
25 Feb 2022
SurvivingChecked on "as of" date (either in person or via latest GSV available), so can be assumed to be surviving at least as far as that date
as of Feb 2022
Despite there being plenty of pictures on these pages of old Caltrans freeway lights that were removed years ago, Glen Norman is still turning up forgotten examples in 2022 - good on you, Glen!
This is a Caltrans standard cast type OV20 with a glare shield, on a CD 925 pole. It's missing its glass, but Glen tells me the clear mercury lamp is still intact, so it might still work. As the pic shows, it's located at the entrance of the onramp of the 110 freeway northbound, on Georgia St. This is part of the large 10/110 interchange, just southwest of downtown LA, near the convention center. I thought this might be University Park (90007) but the Thomas Guide shows it as being in 90015. The BSL Patrol Maps show this light, although part of the Caltrans system, is maintained by the BSL under contract to Caltrans. This might explain why it has meen missed, when Caltrans changed the rest of the lights on this interchange to LED.
Pic credit: Glen Norman, taken 25 Feb 2022.
07 Sep 2011
RemovedChecked on "as of" date (either in person or via latest GSV available), removal happened as late as that date or before
as of Aug 2012 for LED fixures
This is the other side of the same freeway interchange as the previous pic. When this pic was taken in Sep 2011, there were still some interesting sights under LA's freeways, however we never spotted the light in the other pic. This location is got to by going west on W 17th St in downtown LA, just north of the 10 freeway. Just after crossing S Grand, instead of taking the freeway onramp, bear right and you end up on S Hope St. This is still W 17th St, just, I think. In the picture you can see the freeway onramp, and the lights of interest are underneath the offramp, nearer in the shot. This twin arm short pole with gumball fixtures would probably have had clear mercury lamps, and been fed from a series system. It's also possible they were series incandescent but I never saw them lit. Similar ones in Toluca Lake are clear mercury though.
03 May 2016
SurvivingChecked on "as of" date (either in person or via latest GSV available), so can be assumed to be surviving at least as far as that date
as of Apr 2025 (no lens)
Pic courtesy of Jim Terry
South LA, looking south on S 2nd St across E Slauson in Huntington Park. This industrial area was once home to all sorts of interesting utilitarian fixtures, so to have one still extant in 2025 is very unusual. This suspended teardrop fixture had been converted to multiple HPS at some point but against the odds has survived. GSV shows it lost its lens some time late 2022/early 2023 but as of April 2025 the bare lamp still looks intact. Part of the old series wire to this fixture still survives, having been repurposed for the line voltage feed, just south of Slauson, on Regent St. The railway line in the picture which runs along Slauson, was part of the network of industrial rail round here, is an old BNSF right of way for the Harbor Subdivision. It was purchased by LACMTA in the 1990s and is since 2022 being converted to the "Rail to Rail" rail trail pathway.
07 Sep 2010
A couple of pictures of the famous "Urban Light" sculpture at LACMA, made in 2008 by Chris Burden (1946-2015). When these pics were taken, the lights had incandescent lamps
in them, of lower wattage than the originals. According to the LACMA website, they are now solar powered but I've not been there recently to confirm that.
20 Sep 2009
They stand at roughly 5999 Wilshire Blvd, and are a permanent feature.
20 Sep 2009
The pavilion seen here has been demolished to make way for the new David Geffen Galleries building, named after its biggest donor and spanning Wilshire Blvd, but Urban Light has been left untouched. For some 2008 pics I took when Urban Light was first installed, click here.
RemovedChecked on "as of" date (either in person or via latest GSV available), removal happened as late as that date or before
as of 2010-2011
Update May 2025: Looking at this again, this yard was on N Mission just west of the 5 freeway on the right heading into downtown but that area has changed a lot over the years. The
best I can work out, the yard and buildings were cleared in 2010/2011 and no trace remains.
Here's a great sight and something I'd not seen in the flesh before- Revere
'cat-eye' floods at a haulage company yard. It's just northeast of downtown LA, on Mission just near the 10/101 intersection.Pic taken July 2008.
If you get the fullsize pic you'll see a 400W BT mecury lamp. The himast floods in the background are lighting a huge railway marshalling yard.
Pic taken July 2008.
Pic taken July 2008.
The ballast box is the rather stylish casting in the middle, you can see each of these double fixtures has a photocell too. There are probably 8-10 of these doubles on the building.
Pic taken July 2008.
Pic taken July 2008.
There are some single versions too, here's one (with perching bird) and downtown LA in the background.
There is one other one I know of, and this one I've seen working- it lights up the flags outside Inglewood City Hall at 1, Manchester Blvd.
Pic taken July 2008.
There is one other one I know of, and this one I've seen working- it lights up the flags outside Inglewood City Hall at 1, Manchester Blvd.
Pic taken July 2008.
16 Feb 2016
Pic courtesy Jim Terry.
An unusual example of working incandescent shovel hat fixtures, showing the area they are capable of lighting with the original lamps. This is cheating slightly as this is a museum, a restored 1930s Richfield gas station located at 9670 W Foothill Blvd in Rancho Cucamonga (at Archibald Ave). A bit far out from LA for this page but close enough. When this pic was taken in early 2016, it had just opened and the only extra light in the vicinity was the advertising sign. The 2 restored shovel hats do a good job of lighting the front of the gas station lot. Since then there has been a streetscaping project and there are pedestrian fixtures and LED streetlights, so the general light levels are higher so it's not as possible to see the effect of the shovel hat fixtures.
An unusual example of working incandescent shovel hat fixtures, showing the area they are capable of lighting with the original lamps. This is cheating slightly as this is a museum, a restored 1930s Richfield gas station located at 9670 W Foothill Blvd in Rancho Cucamonga (at Archibald Ave). A bit far out from LA for this page but close enough. When this pic was taken in early 2016, it had just opened and the only extra light in the vicinity was the advertising sign. The 2 restored shovel hats do a good job of lighting the front of the gas station lot. Since then there has been a streetscaping project and there are pedestrian fixtures and LED streetlights, so the general light levels are higher so it's not as possible to see the effect of the shovel hat fixtures.