Monstrous cobra-head lampposts all over New York City have been lighting up the streets of the Big Apple since 1958, but they’re quite hideous. Throughout the world, you’ll find fantastic examples of lampposts that serve their purpose of creating safer streets, parks, and paths and do it in style. Whether they’re alone, in pairs, or in a series, these practical devices, when done right, add tremendous beauty to what they’re illuminating. These are my favorites.

#1 Blue Bridge (Blauwbrug, Amsterdam, the Netherlands)

On my way from one of the top museums in Amsterdam, the Willet-Holthuysen House, to another, Hermitage Amsterdam, I crossed the Blue Bridge over the Amstel River. The bridge’s name originates from the wooden bridge, painted blue, that was here from around 1600. Replaced in 1883, the new Blue Bridge bears hardly any trace of the color. The stone bridge has three openings for ships, the bases are shaped like the bows of ships, and a fine balustrade runs along the entire length. On each side of the road that the bridge carries, four lampposts light the way. Marble columns are topped with Corinthian capitals, on top of which rests freshly painted imperial crowns. About halfway up the shaft, let your imagination try to determine what the decorative ship element is. Ark? Submarine? Hard to tell, but they’re quite beautiful. The face of a bearded man centers each of them, and they support blue lanterns that are topped with mini crowns.

#2 Seville Light Fountain (Kansas City, Missouri)

I wasn’t in Country Club Plaza to shop, although that is its raison d’etre: This privately owned shopping center opened in 1923 as the first planned large outdoor suburban shopping center in the United States. Rather, I was here to marvel at the 18 separate buildings, including 12 towers, designed in the Baroque and Moorish Revival styles that echo the architecture of Seville, Spain. At the eastern edge of this stunning complex, I found the Seville Light in a triangular traffic island. This combination fountain/lamppost was created as an exact replica of the Plaza de Los Reyes Fountain in Seville, one of Kansas City’s sister cities. Rising from a quatrefoil basin, the central shaft, carved from several kinds of marble, rises 30’. Water flows down from face masks into shell-shaped basins. Above them, ridged volutes decrease in size as they approach the top pedestal. Here, the lamppost part is composed of astoundingly intricate ironwork of vines and flowers from which dangle four lanterns. At the very top, a fifth lantern rises above it all, topped with both crown and cross.

#3 City Hall (Stadhuis, Leiden, the Netherlands)

The Nieuwe Rijn, a 1.5-mile-long river branch of the Oude Rijn, wends its way through the city of Leiden. While strolling along this placid waterway, with its charming arched bridges and barge restaurants, I came to the rear of Leiden’s City Hall. It’s an impressive building, with its tower and stepped gables. At one corner of the hall’s courtyard rises a brick and granite column, topped by an eye-catching monumental lamppost. Unveiled in 1951, the lamppost has a short post topped by four lanterns rising from swooping arms and encircling a taller fifth lantern in the center. The panels bear diamond shapes, while the roof of each lantern is dome-shaped, topped by a little filial.

#4 Viti Palace (Palazzo Viti, Volterra, Italy)

In the alluring hilltop town of Volterra, you’ll find one of the world’s most beautiful things that are white—alabaster. The craftspeople here who create gorgeous alabaster objects, from giant urns to tabletops, bookends to jewelry boxes, have made Volterra a mecca for admiring and purchasing these goods. One of the most extraordinary examples of it is not for sale. You’ll find it in Palazzo Viti, a splendid Italian residence built in the late 1500s for a Venetian nobleman. It assumed its name in 1850, when the alabaster merchant Giuseppe Viti purchased and restored it. As you roam around the rooms that are open to the public, you’ll eventually make your way to the ballroom, where you’ll find a pair of lampposts (technically called candelabras here, but they serve the same purpose) that will completely enthrall you. These monumental candelabras were made of alabaster for Maximilian of Habsburg, Emperor of Mexico, but he never got to use them—he was executed in Querétaro, Mexico, in 1867 before they were completed. Oil lamps were lit inside the bulbs, but it’s the structure itself that impresses: the circular base with claw feet and three open-mouth dragons revealing a pair of ferocious incisors; the curled leaves adorning the post; the ornate arms supporting half a dozen lamps; the magnificent top. More than just a source of light, this is a masterpiece of art.

#5 Independence Plaza (Plaza Independencia, Mendoza, Argentina)

In the heart of this warm and wonderfully shaded city, five plazas invite locals and visitors to enjoy the outdoors, where they can relax on a bench, explore the fountains and monuments, and shop at outdoor markets. The largest of the five is the 13-acre Plaza Independencia, which could fit the other four (plazas Chile, España, Italia, and San Martín) neatly inside it. Along the paths, among the rare and beautiful trees and plants and the occasional iridescent hummingbird, you’ll notice tall, ornamental metal lampposts, all painted blue. Some have one lantern, others have two, still others have three, and when they turn on, they provide a soft, romantic illumination that enhances the ambience of this already lovely plaza.

Five Runners-Up

• Marquis of Pombal Square (Lisbon, Portugal)
• Russalka Memorial (Tallinn, Estonia)
• Fondamenta Croce (Venice, Italy)
• Wyandotte County Courthouse (Kansas City, Kansas)
• L’Isla, Malta

I’d Love to Hear From You!

Have you been here? Have I inspired you to go? Let me know!