Cincinnati Yellow Lamps

10/02/2026

I can’t say anything about the veracity of this post, but it’s interesting. Yellow looks good on our town.

10/01/2026

Things to know about the Island Lamps, from reliable sources.

From Thomas Hooper, Operations Supervisor at City of Cincinnati
There are "around 40" still out on the street.
There are "around 30" new old stock yellow shades still on the shelf.

The spun aluminum tops ceased production around 2007, and no new yellow shades have been ordered since about the same time, when a decision was made to begin strategically remove some lamps due to maintenance costs of lamps getting knocked down almost daily.

(A few years ago, Mike Gruenschlager shared that his family company Hukon Manufacturing had made the spun aluminum tops beginning in the 1920's through the 1990s. He said at that time, the City contracted out the fabrication of the tops- he referred to them as "canopies." - to "electrical companies," perhaps meaning manufacturers of lamps and lamp parts? Hukon would take a flat piece of aluminum and shape it over a spinning wooden mold, which Gruenschlager reported doing himself "thousands of times" through the 1980s and 1990s. He also said there were family stories of the canopies being made of steel at times when aluminum was rationed.)

The frames that the shade sit in and attach it to the pole are custom made as needed by the one of the City's welding contractors, Sauerwein Welding in Lockland.

The frame has a 2 inch bell reducer that screws onto a 2 inch steel pipe.

The ground plate that the pole mounts on is also a part specific to the lamps, 12"x12"x1", with a 3 inch threaded opening that connects to the 2 inch pipe via an adapter.

In addition to the lamp assembly itself, a continuing maintenance challenge is aging conduit that runs wiring to each island.

The current practice is to keep the ones in the street going as long as possible.

Send a message to learn more

09/27/2026

Someone asked in the comments on the recent CityBeat article if there was ever a lamp at Brotherton and Marburg. Earliest street view from 2007 shows a triangular striped gore area, which very well could have been a raised island once. Anyone have a specific memory of this location?

09/27/2026

In 2011, there were 18 lamps in vicinity of Reading Road at Seymour Ave. Several of them had been knocked over and repaired since 2008. By 2014, they were all gone.

09/27/2026

Yellow lamps help find lost pets.

09/27/2026

Stats for the Google map.
Dang.

Going to try a major update. Anybody want to help?

09/25/2026

Give us a follow one of the other Meta platforms that rule our lives. Because that's where the youth are, or something.

0 Followers, 18 Following, 2 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Cincinnati Yellow Lamps ()

09/25/2026

Anyone know anything about this project? Will the island and lamp at Erie and Rosslyn be impacted?

Have a say in how Erie & Murray get redesigned!

Join the Department of Transportation and Engineering for a public open house on Tuesday, Sept. 29, from 6:00 to 7:30 PM at the Eastside Rec Center (3950 Paxton Ave). Come review the proposed designs, ask questions, and share your feedback directly with the team.

Can’t make it? Check out the project page details at https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/dote/dote-projects/erie-avenue-murray-road-safety-improvements/

09/25/2026

Two comments from the City Beat post about the lamps. Can anyone verify?

“They just took one down from Red Bank/ Woodford 😔”

“There is one in a front yard in sayler park”

09/25/2026

Yellow light-themed product of the week:

Island Light Zine

Digital Printing, CMYK
12 Pages, Folded
2025
Publication

332 x 475mm

“Newsprint Zine covering yellow street lights around the city of Cincinnati. Remnants from a defunct streetcar company that are on the verge of obsolescence. In the summer of 2024, I made it my mission to document the remaining lights. This publication aims to develop an appreciation for the lamps that Cincinnati has left.”

https://fredrickgageveith.com/new-nav-mobile