Illuminations originated in Renaissance Italy and spread to all the courts of Europe more than a century before oil lamps provided the first street lighting. The transition to gas after 1800 and to electricity after 1875 offered new possibilities for public celebrations. Americans rejected monarchical pomp but adapted spectacular lighting to democratic and commercial culture between 1875 and 1915. In the 1880s some cities were evenly lighted by powerful tower arc lights providing the equivalent of bright moonlight. But these towers were soon replaced by more commercial forms of gas and electri ... More

Illuminations originated in Renaissance Italy and spread to all the courts of Europe more than a century before oil lamps provided the first street lighting. The transition to gas after 1800 and to electricity after 1875 offered new possibilities for public celebrations. Americans rejected monarchical pomp but adapted spectacular lighting to democratic and commercial culture between 1875 and 1915. In the 1880s some cities were evenly lighted by powerful tower arc lights providing the equivalent of bright moonlight. But these towers were soon replaced by more commercial forms of gas and electric lighting. American cities rapidly became the most intensely lighted in the world, as measured by engineers, attested by foreign travellers, and demonstrated at spectacular events such as the Veiled Prophet parades in St. Louis, the Hudson-Fulton celebration, and expositions in New Orleans, Chicago, Omaha, Buffalo, St. Louis, and San Francisco. Yet neither moonlight towers nor world’s fairs provided the model for downtown, where shops, theaters, and dance halls adopted electric signs and corporations spotlighted their skyscrapers. Despite opposition from the City Beautiful movement, a heterotopian landscape emerged that changed its appearance at night. This kaleidoscopic cityscape differed radically from Europe, expressing a culture of individualism, competition, private enterprise, and constant change that soon became naturalized. Photographs and postcards celebrated the cubist skyline, as spectacular lighting became emblematic of American culture’s apparent release from the rhythms of nature. Elements of this commercial culture of illumination were adapted to political campaigns, presidential inaugurations, and the propaganda of World War I.