Willis Lamm's
Traffic Signal Collection
(And Street Lights Too)

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  General Electric (GE) Form 79
No. 205 "Gumball" Street Light

The GE Form 79 with the No. 205 globe, commonly referred to as the "gumball," was the iconic incandescent street light design from the 1940s through the 1970s.

The Form 79 lamp housing actually came out with either a pendant mount configuration or a side mount slip-fitter. The side mount version either had a solid cap (for operation on multiple circuits) or an adjustable socket for a photo control.

Line voltage conductors were typically fed through the mounting arm. Luminaires suspended from span wires or channel truss arms were provided with ceramic bushings for conductors to enter. Higher voltage for series circuits was supplied through ceramic entrance bushings or ceramic binding posts, depending on the customer's preference.

This particular specimen came with the conventional twist-lock photo control socket.

  Components of the Luminaire

GE heads typically had no manufacturer's markings. Telltale signs that a head was GE included a rather long slip fitter with square head set screws, one on the side of the slip fitter's neck to secure the lamp, and opposing vertical screws to adjust the lamp's balance. (Note: This type of fitter was not exclusively GE, but was typical of GE side mounts.)

More specific to GE is the hub on the top of the head. Whether threaded for pendant mounting, capped for use on multiple circuits or cut out for a photo control socket, GE had a unique hub design. Most manufacturers provided hex shaped hubs for threading the luminaires onto pendant mounts. GE's hubs were primarily round with two opposing flat sides onto which a wrench could be slid for tightening.

While many bowl globes were manufactured by Holophane, a great number were also made by Gleason-Tibeout Glass, using their GTG logo. On the glass the Gs appear to be Cs so they are often erroneously described as CTC globes. (Please see below for examples of GTG diffusing globes.)

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Classic slip fitter and top hub - round with 2 flat sides as
opposed to the hex shape found on most luminaires.
Profile of the 205 "gumball" diffusing globe.
Glass by Gleason-Tiebout Glass.
Interior view. Three binding posts are provided.
Line (to the photocontrol,) neutral (common)
and load (from the photocontrol.)
205 refractor number.
Circuit testing after installation.
This luminaire has a 6000 Lumen (410w) extended service lamp. Larger size lamps won't
fit through the 8" reflector opening. For larger size bulbs a hinged refractor is needed.
Most of these classic street lights have years of service remaining in them. They can still provide great security, safety and area lighting. For dusk to dawn operation, low wattage - high light output lamps can be used to provide lighting equivalent to traditional incandescent illumination at a fraction of the cost.

Typical diffusing globes used with the Form 79 head.
(GE originally used Holophane however in the 1940s switched to GTG.)

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GE Form 79 Street Light with Hinged Bowl

More Information on Series Street Lights

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