Location Austin and vicinity Architectural style Lighting Towers RTHL # 6424 Added to NRHP 12 July 1976 | Built 1894 (1894) NRHP Reference # 76002071 Opened 1894 Nearest city Austin | |
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Architect Fort Wayne Electric Co. Similar Moonlight tower, Arnold Bakery, Judge Robert Lynn Batt, Robinson–Macken House, Austin History Center | ||
The Moonlight towers in Austin, Texas are the only known surviving light towers in the world. They are 165 feet (50 m) tall and have a 15-foot (4.6 m) foundation. A single tower cast light from six carbon arc lamps, illuminating a 1,500-foot-radius (460 m) circle brightly enough to read a watch.
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In 1970 the towers were recognized as Texas State Landmarks, followed by the 15 remaining towers being listed in the National Register of Historic Places on July 12, 1976. Only 6 are in their original locations as established by the Board of Public Works and City Council in 1895.
History
In 1894, the City of Austin purchased 31 used towers from Detroit. They were manufactured in Indiana by Fort Wayne Electric Company and assembled onsite. Some have claimed that Austin put up moonlight towers partially in response to the actions of the Servant Girl Annihilator, but in fact the towers were not erected until 1894 and 1895, ten years after the murders took place.
When first erected, the towers were connected to electric generators at the Austin Dam, completed in 1893 on the site of present-day Tom Miller Dam. In the 1920s their original carbon-arc lamps, which were exceedingly bright but time-consuming to maintain, were replaced by incandescent lamps, which gave way in turn to mercury vapor lamps in the 1930s. The mercury vapor lamps were controlled by a switch at each tower's base. During World War II, a central switch was installed, allowing citywide blackouts in case of air raids.
In 1993 the city of Austin dismantled the towers and restored every bolt, turnbuckle and guy-wire as part of a $1.3 million project, the completion of which was celebrated in 1995 with a city-wide festival. The City of Austin has ordinances in place to protect the towers from demolition. However, since 2004 the towers at 4th & Nueces and 1st & Trinity have been removed due to new construction. It is unclear whether they will be replaced, or erected elsewhere.
Surviving towers
There are 15 surviving towers kept in original condition except for a historic plaque on each tower.
Dismantled towers
In popular culture
The Zilker Park tower was prominently featured in the film Dazed and Confused (1993) as the site of a high-school keg party, in which the character David Wooderson played by Matthew McConaughey exclaims, "Party at the moon tower."
This place used to be off limits, man, ‘cause some drunk freshman fell off. He went right down the middle, smacking his head on every beam, man. I hear it doesn’t hurt after the first couple though. Autopsy said he had one beer, how many did you have?
The scenes were actually filmed at mock-up of a tower, which was erected at Walter E. Long Park east of Austin. Both the base and top of the tower shown in the movie differed greatly from those of the real towers.
There is a band called Moonlight Towers from Austin.
An episode of the podcast 99% Invisible titled "Under the Moonlight" explores the history of the moonlight towers.