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By: Mary Merda
Website: http://www.lamps-n-lighting.com
As Americans switch to daylight savings time
this weekend, they can also celebrate a major
milestone in lighting history -- the 100th anniversary
of the company that created America's earliest
electric lighting fixtures.
Lightolier, one of the oldest lighting companies
in America, begins its centennial celebration
this weekend. Founded in the Spring of 1904 in
the Bowery section of New York City by Austrian
immigrant Bernhard Blitzer, Lightolier has illuminated
the nation's homes and workplaces for a hundred
years.
- In the early 1900's, lighting was mostly
produced by gas. While Thomas
Edison pioneered the light bulb 25 years earlier,
it was not yet
popularized, nor were electric lighting products
widely available.
Lightolier helped to change that by popularizing
decorative lighting in
the 1920's, bringing electrical lighting into
the home.
- In the 1960's Lightolier created Lytespan,
the first track lighting fixtures.
Inspired by the pole lamp, Lytespan leads the
way in transforming store
and museum lighting and is the company's most
often cited example of
"do it first, do it better."
- After 100 years, Lightolier continues to
be a leader and pioneer in the
lighting industry. In 2003, the company introduced
iGen, a new
generation in office lighting which allows office
occupants total
personal control over the lighting fixtures
immediately overhead via
the computer.
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