The Historic “King” Street Lights of Outpost Estates
One of the charming, defining features of the original Outpost Estates neighborhood is its distinctive vintage street lighting. These lights are more than functional—they’re part of the identity and character of our community. Below is what neighbors should know about them, their challenges, and how we as a community are working to preserve them.
✨ A Legacy in Iron: The “King” Street Lights
When Outpost Estates was developed in the 1920s, the original developer (Mr. Toberman) paid to install all infrastructure: streets, sidewalks, underground utilities, and the street lights. The historic lights known locally as “King” model fixtures were part of that original investment.
In early Los Angeles, developers often specified custom streetlights for new subdivisions rather than relying on standardized fixtures. The Los Angeles Bureau of Street Lighting (BSL) later took over maintenance but many neighborhoods still retain their original fixture styles (see the history of LA street lighting here).
Because the original boundaries of Outpost Estates aligned with where those “King” lights were installed, the placement of these lights still helps define the historic neighborhood limits. As the neighborhood has grown and developed, newer sections of Outpost Estates do not have the historic “King” lights. Replacing the modern day standard street lights with the historic “King” lights would cost at least $5,200 per light (estimated cost from a quote provided in 2023 to replace a downed existing “King” street light) and would require funding from the neighborhood or property owners rather than reliance on the City.
Picture of the top of one of the “King” street lights in Outpost Estates.
📍 See the Map of Street Lights
Did you know there are over 200 street lights in Outpost Estates?
The City of Los Angeles maintains a public map of street light locations. You can explore it here:
👉 Street Light Map – LA GeoHubZoom in on Outpost Estates and you’ll see the exact placement of street lights in our neighborhood. If you hover over or click on the blue dot indicating where a street light is located it pulls up the “Street Light ID” number (listed as STLID) which is helpful to reference when reporting any issues with street lights when communicating with the City.
Here are helpful maps that show which street lights are connected to which electrical circuit: Map 209 | Map 210.
A screenshot of the Los Angeles City Street Light Map.
💸 When the Lights Break: Challenges & Costs
Picture of a damaged historic King street light on Outpost Drive in 2023 after a diesel rig ran over it.
Historic “King” lights are made of wrought iron and are custom fabricated, so replacements aren’t generally stocked/held in inventory. If one is damaged—say, by a 🚗 car accident—it can take about 6 months to replace. The 6 month estimate is based on how long it took to replace downed street lights in 2022 and 2023.
Cost of replacement: approximately $5,200 per fixture (quote was for labor and materials in 2023, so anticipate annual cost escalations).
🚨 2026 Update: Widespread Street Light Outages in Outpost Estates Due to Copper Wire Theft
If you have noticed that many of the street lights in Outpost Estates are dark, you are not alone. A significant number of our historic "King" street lights — on both upper and lower Outpost Drive and surrounding side streets — are currently non-functional due to copper wire theft from underground conduit and above-ground control boxes throughout the neighborhood. ONA has been tracking, reporting, and advocating on this issue for months. Here is a summary of where things stand and what is being done.
How Bad Is It?
ONA volunteers have mapped every street light in the neighborhood and confirmed the status of each one. The results are sobering.
A full list of every service request ticket filed for non-working street lights — including the date each was first reported — is available in the ONA Street Light Tracking Spreadsheet. The earliest open ticket dates back to June 15, 2025 for a street light at 2035 Outpost Drive — meaning that light has been out for approximately 10 months with no repair.
The City has confirmed that current repair wait times are averaging 9 to 12 months from the date a 311 service ticket is first submitted — and that large-scale outages caused by copper wire theft cannot be addressed during the quarterly "priority week" repair windows because those crews are not equipped for the fortification work required to prevent repeat vandalism.
Picture of street lighting control box in Outpost Estates that was broken into in 2025. Someone stole copper wire, which has left many street lights in Outpost Estates dark.
Map showing the status of street lights in Outpost Estates as of April 2026. Black dots indicate confirmed non-working lights. Green dots indicate confirmed working lights. Yellow dots have not yet been confirmed. Note: A number of lamp posts that are working are obscured by tree branches, reducing the amount of light on the sidewalk and street.
What the City Has Told Us
ONA has been in direct communication with Los Angeles City Council District 4 (Councilmember Nithya Raman) about the outages. Here is what we have been told:
The problem is citywide, not unique to Outpost Estates. Similar outages persist across Los Feliz, Silver Lake, the Hollywood Dell, the Mulholland Corridor, and many other neighborhoods. The scale of outages currently exceeds both Council District 4's available funding and the Bureau of Street Lighting's (BSL) staffing capacity.
Decades of underinvestment are the root cause. Councilmember Raman has stated publicly that decades of underinvestment in street lighting have contributed to the current crisis. BSL's maintenance assessment funding has been largely frozen since 1996, while copper theft has surged by 1,200% over the last decade. Repairs caused by theft cost at least four times more than standard maintenance.
The numbers are staggering. There are currently more than 32,000 open street light service requests across the City of Los Angeles. Reports of broken lights surged to nearly 46,000 in one recent year — a 43% increase over the prior year.
Neighborhoods cannot privately contract for street light repairs. Even if Outpost Estates residents wanted to fund repairs directly, the City does not currently allow neighborhoods to hire private contractors to work on City-owned street lighting infrastructure.
Council District 4's next "priority week" is scheduled for late May. Each Council office can submit recommended repair locations once per quarter during these windows. However, the copper wire theft damage in Outpost Estates requires specialized fortification work that goes beyond what priority week crews can handle.
Two Major City Initiatives Underway
The City has two significant efforts in progress that could eventually help reduce repair times and address the systemic backlog:
1. The Proposition 218 Street Lighting Assessment Ballot (Ballots Due June 2, 2026)
The City Council approved BSL's request to establish an updated citywide property assessment to fund street light maintenance and operations for Fiscal Year 2026-27. This is the first time the assessment has been updated in 30 years. Here is what property owners need to know:
BSL will mail ballots to approximately 500,000 to 600,000 property owners starting in April 2026
Ballots must be returned by June 2, 2026
The updated assessment is expected to generate approximately $125 million to fund routine maintenance, emergency repairs, and theft-hardening (harder-to-steal wiring) across the City's system of approximately 223,000 street lights and 27,000 miles of underground copper wire
For a typical single-family home on a quarter-acre lot, the proposed assessment could be approximately $147 per year (exact amounts will vary by parcel and will be printed on your ballot)
This is a Proposition 218 weighted ballot — only returned ballots are counted, and they are weighted by the proposed assessment amount. If a weighted majority of returned ballots opposes the increase, the City Council cannot levy the assessment.
BSL leadership has stated that if the assessment passes, it could reduce repair response times from approximately one year to approximately two days
ONA encourages every property owner in Outpost Estates to watch for this ballot in the mail in April, review it carefully, and return it by the June 2 deadline. Regardless of how you vote, returning your ballot ensures your voice is counted. For questions about your ballot, contact the BSL Proposition 218 Compliance Section at (213) 847-1500 or visit lalights.lacity.org/residents/prop_218.html.
2. The Mayor's Solar Street Lights Initiative (Executive Directive No. 18)
On March 25, 2026, Mayor Karen Bass signed Executive Directive No. 18, launching a program to repair and replace up to 60,000 street lights citywide over the next two years using solar-powered technology. The City is calling it the largest investment in street light infrastructure in Los Angeles history. The initiative is a partnership between the Bureau of Street Lighting (BSL) and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). The program is designed to tackle the decade-long repair backlog, combat copper wire theft (since solar lights do not rely on underground copper wiring), reduce the City's energy consumption, and advance Los Angeles's goal of 100% clean energy by 2035.
What this means for Outpost Estates — and what it doesn't:
Here is where it gets complicated for our neighborhood. The City has confirmed that historic lampposts like the "King" street lights in Outpost Estates are not currently candidates for solar conversion. The solar initiative is designed for standard modern fixtures that can be retrofitted — not custom historic fixtures that require specialized parts and wiring.
Additionally, Outpost Estates presents practical challenges for solar even on non-historic fixtures. Our neighborhood sits in a hillside canyon with significant tree canopy. Many of our streets are shaded for much of the day, which reduces the effectiveness of solar panels that need consistent direct sunlight to charge.
However, the solar initiative could still help Outpost Estates indirectly. By converting approximately 60,000 standard lights citywide to solar, the program is expected to free up BSL crews and resources to focus on repairs in neighborhoods like ours where solar is not feasible. The City has indicated this is part of the strategy — reducing the overall backlog so that the remaining traditional repairs can be addressed more quickly.
BSL and LADWP are directed to complete a preliminary assessment of the 60,000 eligible locations within 30 days and report back on which sites will be prioritized first. The departments will report quarterly to the Mayor and Council on progress.
What Neighbors Can Do Right Now
Report outages immediately. Street light repairs happen on a first-in, first-out basis. If you see a light that is out and has not yet been reported, submit a MyLA311 request right away. Include the Street Light ID number (STLID) if you can find it on the LA GeoHub street light map.
Contact Council District 4. The more voices the City hears from Outpost Estates, the more attention our outages will receive. If you have a few minutes, send an email or call: Bernadette Cronley, CD4 Field Deputy for the Hollywood Hills: bernadette.cronley@lacity.org or Council District 4 Office: (213) 473-7004
Watch for your Proposition 218 ballot in April. Return it by June 2. Whether you support or oppose the assessment increase, returning your ballot is the only way to have your vote counted.
Trim trees and brush around street lights on or near your property. Even when lights are working, overgrown tree branches can block them. Keeping vegetation trimmed around lamp posts increases the light that reaches the street and sidewalk — which matters especially when so many nearby lights are dark.
🛠️ ONA’s Role: Advocacy, Maintenance & Community Action
Outpost Neighborhood Association (ONA) actively engages with city officials, service departments, and neighbors to protect and maintain our historic street lighting infrastructure:
Collaboration with City Council & City Services:
ONA meets regularly with our Councilmember’s office and with BSL staff to advocate for prioritized repair of “King” lights in Outpost Estates, to ensure funds are allocated, and to press for replacement of wire theft and vandalism vulnerabilities.Annual Maintenance & Visibility Efforts:
Each year, ONA cleans historic street lights (removing debris, cobwebs, etc.) and trims surrounding brush/landscaping so the fixtures and poles remain visible and safe. This helps reduce risk, prolong fixture life, and ensure they remain part of the streetscape.Reporting & Tracking:
Street light repairs happen on a first-in, first-out basis, so ONA encourages neighbors to report outages right away using myLA311. Click here for how to report.
One of the easiest ways to submit a request for city services is using the MyLA311 mobile app.
🌃 Historic Streetlights as Iconic Cultural Assets
The “Urban Light” art installation at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Image source: https://collections.lacma.org/node/214966
Outpost Estates’ lighting is part of a broader cultural tradition in Los Angeles: streetlights are not just utilitarian but have inspired art, preservation, and even museums.
In 2008 the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) installed an art piece featuring historic LA Street Lights titled “Urban Light” which has now become a popular tourist attraction.
There is a hidden museum of streetlights in downtown LA—a collection of vintage light poles, fixtures, and artifacts preserved out of public view. The museum celebrates the history of illumination in Los Angeles, including styles that once dotted neighborhoods like ours. (Source: LAist podcast “There’s a Hidden Museum of Streetlights”)
A recently published book about the historic street lights of Los Angeles is a good read: “Electric Moons: A Social History of Street Lighting in Los Angeles” by India Mandelkern (Author) and Tom Bertolotti (Photographer).
These cultural references underscore that street lighting can be both practical and symbolic—linking past to present, utility to memory, and neighborhood aesthetics to the city’s broader heritage.
The Historic Streetlight Museum has the most comprehensive collection of Los Angeles streetlights. Image source: https://laist.com/podcasts/off-ramp/theres-a-hidden-museum-of-streetlights-in-downtown-los-angeles
🔭 Looking Forward
The “King” streetlights are a signature of Outpost Estates’ heritage. While they face risks from damage, theft, and repair delays, they remain an essential part of our streetscape and neighborhood identity. With consistent reporting and community care, we can help keep our lights shining bright for years to come. ✨
Click on the images below to see a presentation from 2023 from the Los Angeles City Bureau of Street Lighting for details on the street lighting program and what they are working on the help repair, restore and preserve street lights in the City.
