Just came across this news segment from California replacing antique streetlamps with replicas. There are few places left with authentic lights like this that too see even more go is terrible. I don't know about the cost or environmental concerns enough to comment as to whether this was the best option, but it is sad to see them go. For those wondering the fixtures were GE Novalux tops.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eaUzwteSGI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eaUzwteSGI

I can kind of understand replacing 100 year old cast iron, but the replicas don’t look too far from the originals🤔

Not surprised unfortunately. It's just cheaper to do a full changeout especially considering the age of the installation as keeping any of the existing stuff would be a hassle down the line (in their eyes).

San Diego still had a few series circuits when I went down there and went to quite a few places a few years back, though what I saw was mainly HPS. Not sure if any of it is still around today. One of the segments from that same news channel also shows some series LPS if I recall correctly.

 To restore the originals you'd have to carefully remove them , take them apart and strip them of all of the old, more than likely lead based paint , replace all of the gaskets and wiring (more than likely asbestos!)  the socket (I'd guarantee the original isn't UL rated !)All this would need to be done off site which means the community would be without lights for however long it took the contractor to restore them . Plus , what happens if you acccidentally break something ?  Add in the environmental costs of disposing the hazardous materials to the restoration cost and restoring the old would probably cost at least 3 times what new costs . 

Yyyyep. Think of the 'MAH TAXPAYER MONEY!!' screams if it comes out that it costs thousands a piece to restore it, versus hundreds to put in a new one. Who knows, perhaps it will cost even more because 3rd parties LOVE to suckle on that teat of sweet govenrment money, and you know they're gonna ramp up the prices by a factor 2 or 3 once they know it's the government's money.

Personally, i think these are worth the premium to restore because street lamps are very influential on the feel of an area, but with labor from the local government itself because i have no trust that 3rd parties will do the job at reasonable cost without price gouging.

Perhaps a vote, with a clear explanation of the cost for each option for the specific community would be appropriate? I don't know kensington but it sounds like a rather affluent neighborhood who could easily miss like 50 bucks in 'historic streetlamp tax' per family that year.

Speaking of lead paint - i just unexpectedly encountered it in a bog standard 1960s AEG fluorescent fixture. Was polishing it with a mild abrasive cleaner, then wanted to wipe away the last bits of remaining abrasive with a dish cloth. After doing that i tested it just to be sure. And welp, bye bye dish cloth.

If they're series, a retrofit to multiple would be very costly, same goes for restoring 50something luminaires. The replacements look good!

Unfortunately, San Diego like several California cities is mismanaged. However what @wide-lite 1000 mentioned is pretty much what I’d say. Really unless those residents paid an assessment district (a special short-term tax residents pay for aiding a municipal project) for a restoration, it’s more cost effective for the city to replace them.

I do hope they sell them off to private parties. Perhaps someone would like to buy and restore them and then sell them to whatever property manager wants to have those thing on their property. Or inviduals who'd like them.