Nice (FR)
Sep 2006
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 Mar 2023
Update Jul 2024: Due to some great detective work by Jim Terry, we finally have a definitive answer to the status and exact location of all the fixtures on this page. Rest of text here updated to reflect this new info.
This great
looking open front mercury Clarel Madeline 250 fixture is located just off Av. Edouard Grinda, north of the junction and railway underpass at Route de Grenoble. Amazingly, GSV shows that as of 2023 it's still there despite all the works going on in this area in the
last few years. This is due to the fact that it is not on the road but in the car park of a block of flats. So its future looks assured, for the moment.
RemovedChecked on "as of" date (either in person or via latest GSV available), removal happened as late as that date or before
as of 2007-building demolished
Much more difficult, 18 years on at time of writing to confirm the location of these fixtures. This is due to the building being knocked down, the whole area cleared, the alignment of the road changed and a transit line being installed. However, the "deco10" decorator store pictured here complete with vintage lighting was located on Maître Maurice Slama at the junction with Blvd René Cassin, in the shadow of both the Nice Saint-Augustin TER station, and Nice Airport. Soon after we took these photos in 2006, the whole area was razed and this location, whilst still fronting on to Maître Maurice Slama, is now where the Crowne Plaza Nice hotel is.
RemovedChecked on "as of" date (either in person or via latest GSV available), removal happened as late as that date or before
as of 2007
Looking at the Phozagora site, a lot of similar building mounted fixtures like this in Nice are Cadetgal by GAL Éclairage, dating from as early as the 1950s. Around since 1928, GAL became or was bought by Lumsi (based northeast of Paris) around 2013 and became GAL Generalux, but as far as I can find out, the parent company ceased trading in 2020.
RemovedChecked on "as of" date (either in person or via latest GSV available), removal happened as late as that date or before
as of 2007
GAL had stopped making stuff like this by the 1970s as far as I can find out.
RemovedChecked on "as of" date (either in person or via latest GSV available), removal happened as late as that date or before
as of 2007
Closeup of the left hand fixture.
RemovedChecked on "as of" date (either in person or via latest GSV available), removal happened as late as that date or before
as of 2007
You can see from these closeups the benefits and downsides of using open luminaires- firstly the reflector is so tarnished it's not really much use, but then this must be 40 years old, if not more- on the other hand the thing's not full of bugs, and in dry climates like this they'll get nowhere near as dirty as somewhere further North (and wet).
RemovedChecked on "as of" date (either in person or via latest GSV available), removal happened as late as that date or before
as of 2007
The right hand fixture. We didn't see these at night, so no idea if they worked. The fixture conduits just went straight into the wall of the building, the newer wiring tied to the fixture supports seemingly being nothing to do with them.