Austin's Moonlight Towers
historic place
Austin's Moonlight Towers are a distinctive feature of Austin, Travis County, Texas. These 165-foot-tall structures are the only known surviving moonlight towers in the world. Erected in 1894 and 1895, the City of Austin installed 31 of these towers to create its first electrical public street lighting system. Each tower originally held six carbon arc lamps, designed to illuminate a 1,500-foot radius. They were powered by electric generators at the Austin Dam. Over time, the original carbon-arc lamps were replaced, first with incandescent bulbs in the 1920s, then mercury vapor lamps in the 1930s. In 1970, the towers were recognized as Texas State Landmarks, and in 1976, they were listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The City of Austin undertook a significant restoration project in 1993, dismantling and restoring each tower. Today, 17 of the original towers remain. These towers represent an early form of urban illumination and remain a unique historical landmark.