Advocacy & Fundraising

 

Now that the city owns the lights, we need to free them from the 19th century poles to which they are bound.        We need to enhance the colonial flavor of the city by expanding street by street, the colonial lighting that is so distinctive to Newburyport.

 

One way is to resurrect the sponsoring by businesses of the colonial lights.      This money could be used toward new lights or to help fund the maintenance of the existing lights.

 

 

As the city began to prosper once again, there became an increasing need to stimulate business by continuing the historic look  of the streetscapes to encourage consumers to lead into other areas.   A system was designed to help pay for additional streetlights to extend down Merrimac and Water Streets and other ‘historic areas’.    Businesses would be encouraged to sponsor the addition of lampposts.     As a memorial to their vision, I have given a few samples of these donations.

 

The city needs to seek funding to expand their street lighting without it being on the backs of the taxpayers and couple it with the process of undergrounding so the lines can be removed from the sight lines of our aesthetic-dependent city.

 

 “Many feel that it is not enough to simply preserve the City’s historical character. Enhancement and beautification of the community must also occur. This includes ideas like burying utilities, installing brick sidewalks, and installing the “Newbury-porter” style lamp posts.”

 

Now that the city owns the streetlights (though not the Adolphus Greeley-inspired wood telegraph poles), there should be a push to expand the use of our distinctive colonial lighting symbols