Have you every noticed the little yellow lights in or around many of the intersections of Cincinnati.  I have never seen them in any other city.  How old are they?  Who makes them?  And why is Cincy one of the only places I have ever seen them?  I would love to know more.  I think they rock!

They do kick ass and as far as I know, Cincinnati is the only city to have them.  They are literally little lamps!

Hey Chris,

 

How about you post one of your pics that shows one so others can see what he's talking about!

I know what he's talking about and they have always puzzled me. 

don't eat the yellow poles

I must admit to having no idea what you're talking about... I am intrigued.

Hey Chris,

 

How about you post one of your pics that shows one so others can see what he's talking about!

 

I don't think I have one lol!

i've been curious for ages as well.

 

what the hell are they?  i assumed they may have had something to do with the streetcar system.  just a guess.

Yeah....clue us in. I don't know what you guys are talking about.

Which interesection  have you seen them. I must have never noticed all these years.

this is the closest thing i've found in any of my pics.

 

I would love to find out who made them and what era the arose from.  I am guessing streetcar era as well.  But the City always maintains them. In fact, after the big December snow I saw a Cincinnati Public Works guy reinstalling one that had been mowed down by some out of control car.  I think they may be run by gas?  I would also love to know where they go when they rework an intersection because I would love to have one as my lamp post in my front yard.  That would rock!! I wonder if you can buy old ones???

^ YES!!!  Thanks, CiNYC!

 

I've noticed that they're only on concrete traffic islands, and on some of the ones that have been redone they've sadly been removed.  I don't know if they're gas or not.

 

I just think they're great, though.  So great that I accept them as I would the flowers or the trees, and I don't even notice them.  Then this thread comes along and suddenly I'm seeing them everywhere again--Red Bank and Duck Creek, Red Bank and Madison, Erie and Rosslyn....

Take a look at the one in the pix. Its on what looks like a fairly modern "Walk/Dont Walk" sign...so maybe not streetcars?  At first I thought it was some form of street light, but how can this even be a light?  It looks too small to be a proper streetlight, even for pedestrians....

These actually do show up in a couple of ColDayMan's photos.  Here's one that's on its own pole:

(That is ColDayMan's, right?)

Maybe someone should e-mail the city.

These actually do show up in a couple of ColDayMan's photos. Here's one that's on its own pole:

 

(That is ColDayMan's, right?)

 

No.  That is a photo by TonyDetroit's.

I agree the City should be contacted.  Does anyone have a contact at the City Transportation Department?  I love those lights.  We need to make sure they are noticed and revered as a wonderful part of Cincinnati's physical culture.  Everyone I point them out to loves them.  They should be preserved.  They are as Cincinnati as Skyline Chili and the Carew Tower.  Super cool old school.

Those lamps are a great local quirk. Plus they're actually useful, because you always know where I concrete triangle or median is.  Usually, they rest atop their own poles, but not uncommonly they are attached to a walk sign pole or streetlight pole.  They are ubiquitous throughout the city neighborhoods, including CBD, OTR, West End, Mt. Auburn, Corryville, Clifton Heights, Avondale, etc.  I believe they are a city phenomenon only, and especially at intersections with major roads such as Reading, MLK, Madison, Liberty and the like.

I, like many others, was wondering what these "little yellow light poles" referred to might be when I first read this thread.  The description is misleading since the poles themselves aren't yellow as far as I can remember, the lamp shades are more orange it seems to me.  I think these lamps are just meant to illuminate the islands in intersections so someone doesn't run over them.  I don't think they are gas, but they have been around for at least 40 years and probably a good many more than that.

Has anyone seen these at night...do they put out much light?  That orangish "lampshade" looks like it would direct the light just directly below..the throw would be pretty minimal.

 

....thats why I'm wondering if they really are a form of lighting? 

Here are a couple more pics.

 

from a traffic island at the corner of Clifton and McMillan:

 

 

from Clifton and Ludlow

 

They don't throw off much light but they do light up at night.  They light up the island some.  They are cool and I think they are indeed from the streetcar era.  They look 1920's to me.  I wouldn't be surprised if they were run by gas with electric light bulbs.  Nice pics of the "little orangish/yellow lights on poles."  How is that?

I was in Western Massachusetts a while back and saw some of them. Has anyone ever been up there.

Yes, I have, and it seems to me I have seen these caution lights in other cities in the East and Midwest over the years, but I don't have precise memories of just where.

Any word on this yet?

I don't think anyone took the time to find out anything.  Give it a crack if you want.

I just may next time I am talking to people at the City.  THESE YELLOW LIGHTS ROCK!

I think you should get a yellow light to hang outside your apartment wherever that is.

Thanks Brutus Buckeye - I think you are right!

It looks like they're keeping them.  I noticed that at the recently re-done traffic island at Kirby and Ashtree that they've re-installed the three yellow lamps.

 

YAY!

Any word yet (2 1/2 years later) on their intended purpose?

 

  I'm not 100% positive on this, but it seems that they mark traffic islands to make the islands more visible at night.

 

  Pay attention to them. Can anyone find one that's NOT on an island?

Pay attention to them. Can anyone find one that's NOT on an island?

 

I've always wondered about these as well, and I have noticed that they are always on an island.

 

  I'm thinking it's the traffic equivalent to a yellow line, meaning drive to the right of the yellow light.

 

  Ok, I found the engineering drawing for these things. They are for lighting the traffic islands.

 

  It seems that they come in three varieties: on a vertical post, on a curved bracket, and hanging from a wire. Let's see who can come up with a photo of each variety!

 

http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/transeng/downloads/transeng_eps11473.pdf (page 5)

They remind me of the British crosswalk lights - blinking yellow/amber lights similar to these on each side of the road to warn a driver of a crosswalk.  See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belisha_beacon

 

I've never noticed one hanging from a wire. Most are on poles by themselves, but the curved brackets are common too; I most recently noticed one of the curved ones at Isabella and Madison in Oakley.

I have noticed them as well esp when I first moved here.  They should be celebrated or used in advertising the city.

I have noticed them as well esp when I first moved here.  They should be celebrated or used in advertising the city.

 

They're quaint and all, but I wouldn't go that far.

When I first moved here, I asked one of my 'Nati pals what they were. "Just a light"

I have noticed them as well esp when I first moved here.  They should be celebrated or used in advertising the city.

 

They're quaint and all, but I wouldn't go that far.

 

Ya maybe that is going a little to far.....

I just realized the other day that there are like 5 of these lights all clustered together at the intersection of Reading and Dorchester.

I have noticed them as well esp when I first moved here.  They should be celebrated or used in advertising the city.

 

They're quaint and all, but I wouldn't go that far.

 

Ya maybe that is going a little to far.....

 

those would look great on the back cover of somebodys new cd release. it would instantly identify where the artist was from. it would be like when some columbus rock band put that iconic ohio exterminating sign with the bugs on theirs.

When I was in Cincinnati yesterday, I grabbed a couple close up shots of the yellow lights. I'll post them later (and yes they are bulbs and not gas as I was asking on another thread).

Turtle lights dimming, destined for extinction

 

QUESTION: "I've often wondered what those little yellow light poles are in the islands and medians around Cincinnati. It seems to be something pretty unique to the city and they usually still have an incandescent bulb in them." – Dave Paprocki, Downtown

 

ANSWER: "They used to designate streetcar stops," said Tom McNamara, co-founder of the Cincinnati Transit Historical Association. "They're on traffic islands in the middle of wide streets," said Roy Jones of Cincinnati's Traffic Engineering Department. "They're called 'turtle lights.' "

 

Cont

:cry:

 

Maybe one of the local start-ups could make a 3D printer algorithm for those guys.