GASLIGHT MEANING URBAN FULL

Its first part shows how urban lighting (especially commercial lighting) was related to the emergence of a new culture of consumption with department stores being one of the central institutions of early consumer capitalism. The following essay addresses this development from a perspective of urban history. The evolution of new lighting systems thus served not only exclusively power-political and security reasons but also followed the principle of attracting “more people onto city streets at night generating more income from retail sales and recreational spending” (Dennis 2008: 132). Hence, at the beginning, primarily the (main) shopping streets were lit as well as squares that were considered worthy of illumination (Schlör 1998: 59). In addition to its power-symbolic significance, the boulevard was also an important address for going out and shopping. In Berlin, for example, the boulevard Unter den Linden was the first street illuminated with gas lights (1826). This aspect is already reflected in the decisions about where in the city street lighting should be introduced first.

The development of new lighting systems – as these impressions illustrate – was closely linked to commercialisation and the emerging (mass) culture of consumption. At the same time, however, one feared the loss of imagination, and “the enslavement of night life above all through advertising” (Schlör 1998: 69). It stood for festively illuminated cities, overwhelming joy and beauty as well as the lengthening of the night connected to pleasure and amusement. Public lighting became a symbol of progress and modernity. Soon the use of incandescent lamps became common and so the direct connection between fire and light disappeared for the first time (Nye 1992: 2). The 1880s marked the beginning of the electrification of the modern city. In the 1760s the oil lamp, réverbère, was introduced in France which was then replaced by gaslight in the mid 19th century. Thus the distance between street lights was increasingly reduced and new types of lanterns were developed.

The ambition to make street lighting more effective inspired constant technical and spatial improvements.

GASLIGHT MEANING URBAN FULL

Adapted to the seasons and the moon, street lighting was reduced or completely turned off in summer and by full moon. It was organised based on the biological rhythm of nature (Schivelbusch 1995: 90). The first public lighting system that was centrally organised and legally standardised emerged in France at the end of the 17th century. We enter a world that is both familiar and strange, a landscape full of light and rich with shadows, the receptacle of our desires and of our hidden, unspeakable fears (Schlör 1998: 9). Fear and fascination meet us as we approach the nocturnal city and accompany us along our way.

Gaslight meaning urban