Tacoma to donate iconic Lincoln District street lamps

Are you interested in owning an iconic piece of Tacoma’s Lincoln International Business District? If so, dozens of bright red ornamental street lamps that once lined the neighborhood’s sidewalks are being offered up for donation by the City of Tacoma.

Last month, the City replaced more than two-dozen street lamps with new light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs (see “LED street lights coming to Tacoma’s Lincoln International Business District,” Tacoma Daily Index, March 2, 2015). As a result, the old fixtures have been repackaged in boxes that were used to ship the new light fixtures, and are now being offered up by the City.

Dozens of red street lamps that once lined Tacoma's Lincoln International Business District were recently replaced with new light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs and fixtures. The old fixtures have been re-packaged and are being offered up for donation by the City of Tacoma. (PHOTO COURTESY CITY OF TACOMA) — Dozens of red street lamps that once lined Tacoma’s Lincoln International Business District were recently replaced with new light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs and fixtures. The old fixtures have been re-packaged and are being offered up for donation by the City of Tacoma. (PHOTO COURTESY CITY OF TACOMA)

“Several community members have told me they were interested in the fixtures,” Debbie Bingham, the International Program Development Specialist in the City of Tacoma’s Community and Economic Development Department, told the Tacoma Daily Index this week. “This is one of the reasons we put them up for surplus — to see if someone can reuse them and not simply recycle them.” Bingham noted the light fixtures are over 20 years old, yet have no historical significance other than “possible sentimental significance to the community.”

In following with the City’s policy for processing surplus property, the street lamps are available to government agencies now, but will be available to non-profit organizations beginning on Mon., May 4, and the general public beginning on Mon., May 11.

More information is available online here or by contacting Bingham at (253) 591-5117.

Todd Matthews is editor of the Tacoma Daily Index, an award-winning journalist, and author of A Reporter At Large and Wah Mee. His journalism is collected online at wahmee.com.

Earlier this year, the City replaced more than two-dozen ornamental street lamps in Tacoma’s Lincoln International Business District with new light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs. (FILE PHOTO BY TODD MATTHEWS)

Red ornamental street lamps are iconic fixtures in Tacoma’s Lincoln International Business District. (FILE PHOTO BY TODD MATTHEWS)

Dozens of red street lamps that once lined Tacoma’s Lincoln International Business District were recently replaced with new light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs and fixtures. The old fixtures have been re-packaged and are being offered up for donation by the City of Tacoma. (PHOTO COURTESY CITY OF TACOMA)