GEC Z5590 Lantern Installations

GEC's Z5590 lantern was also known as the Clearside 5590. They were always remote-geared, having run lamp-types: 60W-200W GLS, 80W-125W MB/U or 80W-125W MBF/U. In the cases of a mercury lamp, the gear would be located in a gear box or the base of the column. Inside the clear acorn-shaped bowl was a refractor ring which would encompass a vertical lamp.

Birmingham

Eyre Street has several privately-owned GEC Z5590s located on wall-brackets. They are in very poor condition, thus I have contacted the buildings owner in hopes of saving them.

The first lantern I pictured showcases just how neglected these fixtures are! It has been like this for years, and the precarious positioning of the lantern has caused water to infiltrate the bowl.

This odd angle did make for a great side-profile!

The inclusion of an original GEC gear-box alongside each lantern is enough to confirm these are the mercury vapour variant.

A future echo (bonus points if you got that reference) of these installations exists not far along the building. The lantern and bracket went missing decades ago, leaving just the gear box.

The third lantern along the front:

Lantern 4:

The fifth installation is in incredibly poor condition.  When the bracket gave out, the lantern smacked the wall with such force that the bowl shattered.