Moonlight towers in Austin, Texas, Historic lighting towers in Austin, United States
Moonlight towers in Austin are a group of historic lighting structures in Texas, with 15 still operating today. Each structure stands around 50 meters (165 feet) tall and carries lamps that light entire residential areas at night.
Austin purchased 31 towers in 1894 from a company in Indiana and installed them as a citywide lighting system. Over time many were removed, but those remaining were later placed on the National Register.
The name comes from the towers' original job: six carbon arc lamps on each cast a circle of light 1,500 feet (460 m) across, bright enough to read a watch by. The Zilker Park tower is decorated as the Zilker Holiday Tree each year, and the Moontower Comedy Festival at the Paramount Theater takes its name from the structures.
The towers stand scattered across residential neighborhoods and parks throughout the city, so you encounter them while moving through town. An evening visit shows the lighting in action and the radius each tower covers.
This installation is the last working system of its kind worldwide, after similar towers in other cities disappeared long ago. Two additional towers are kept in storage and may be erected at new locations in the future.
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