1860’s – 1890’s
Before Portland had electric streetlights, the city used gas street lamps to light streets and sidewalks at night. In the mid-1800s, Portland’s streets could be very dark after sunset. People often carried lanterns or depended on moonlight. When gas streetlights arrived, they were one of the first signs that Portland was becoming a modern city.
In June 1860, Portland began lighting some streets with gas lamps. The gas was made from coal (often called coal gas). This system was not easy to create in a young city so far from major factories. Some of the gas-making equipment had to be shipped a long distance—by sailing ship traveling around Cape Horn at the tip of South America.
Gas streetlights were usually installed along the busiest downtown streets, where businesses and hotels were located. The lights helped people feel safer at night and made it easier for stores to stay open later. But these lamps were not automatic. In the early days, cities often hired lamplighters who walked from lamp to lamp each evening to light them, then returned later to turn them off.
By the early 1870s, gas street lighting had expanded, with reports that more than 100 gas lamps were in use on Portland streets. Over time, however, gas lighting was slowly replaced by electric lights. By the late 1800s, Portland was beginning to use electricity for lighting, including early power generated by Willamette Falls.
Even though they are mostly gone today, gas streetlights helped Portland grow. They made the city brighter, safer, and more active at night—an important step toward the modern Portland we know now.
Hint: Look for old gas street lights on the northeast corner of NW 1st and Couch.
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Discussion Questiions: how did the lamplighter reach the light so high up?
Vocabulary: lamplighter, coal gas, Cape Horn
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State Education Standards:
Social Studies 3.1 Examine how different levels of city and county government provide services to members of a community. Civics and Government
Social Studies 3.10 Identify and analyze Oregon’s natural resources and describe how people in Oregon and other parts of the world use them. Geography