{"name":"Moonlight Towers","city":"Austin, Texas","canonical_url":"https://gydeinfo.com/austin/places/moonlight-towers/","markdown_url":"https://gydeinfo.com/austin/places/moonlight-towers.md","updated_at":"2026-06-14T18:36:49.666817+00:00","facts":[{"claim":"The tower in Zilker Park is used for the Zilker Holiday Tree.","citation":"https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/29965","source_title":"Roadside America: Moonlight Tower","source_type":"official","allowed_use":"canonical_data","retrieved_at":"2026-06-14T18:29:05.201077+00:00","fact_type":"anecdote","as_of":"2026","confidence":0.9},{"claim":"The iconic towers are the last of their kind in the world.","citation":"https://www.nchmuseum.org/nchm-events/mt-moontower","source_title":"Modern Times - In a Blaze of Glory: Austin's Moonlight Towers","source_type":"official","allowed_use":"canonical_data","retrieved_at":"2026-06-14T18:29:04.376066+00:00","fact_type":"significance","as_of":"2026","confidence":1.0},{"claim":"Austin's first streetlighting system had a profound impact on city residents, enabling activity after 7 o'clock in the evening.","citation":"https://www.nchmuseum.org/nchm-events/mt-moontower","source_title":"Modern Times - In a Blaze of Glory: Austin's Moonlight Towers","source_type":"official","allowed_use":"canonical_data","retrieved_at":"2026-06-14T18:29:04.376066+00:00","fact_type":"history","as_of":"late 1800s","confidence":1.0},{"claim":"There are 17 towers in use today, and they are 165-foot-tall towers that support outdoor lighting for parts of Austin.","citation":"https://www.austintexas.org/listings/moonlight-towers/5895/","source_title":"Moonlight Towers - Austin, TX","source_type":"official","allowed_use":"canonical_data","retrieved_at":"2026-06-14T18:29:03.508822+00:00","fact_type":"significance","as_of":"2026","confidence":1.0},{"claim":"Height is roughly 160 feet, weight is about 5,000 pounds, and material is rust-proof wrought iron from the Star Iron Tower Company.","citation":"https://savingplaces.org/stories/austin-moontowers-by-the-numbers","source_title":"Austin's Iconic Moontowers By The Numbers - Preservation Magazine","source_type":"official","allowed_use":"canonical_data","retrieved_at":"2026-06-14T18:29:01.570782+00:00","fact_type":"architecture","as_of":"2026","confidence":1.0},{"claim":"17 moonlight towers still exist; fifteen are standing, and two are in storage.","citation":"https://savingplaces.org/stories/austin-moontowers-by-the-numbers","source_title":"Austin's Iconic Moontowers By The Numbers - Preservation Magazine","source_type":"official","allowed_use":"canonical_data","retrieved_at":"2026-06-14T18:29:01.570782+00:00","fact_type":"significance","as_of":"2026","confidence":1.0},{"claim":"In 2014, the Austin City Council passed a resolution authorizing an ongoing $3.9 million project to repair, restore, and maintain the towers, managed by Austin Energy.","citation":"https://savingplaces.org/stories/austin-moontowers-by-the-numbers","source_title":"Austin's Iconic Moontowers By The Numbers - Preservation Magazine","source_type":"official","allowed_use":"canonical_data","retrieved_at":"2026-06-14T18:29:01.570782+00:00","fact_type":"history","as_of":"2014","confidence":1.0},{"claim":"The Zilker Park Holiday Tree uses 3,159 colored lights on the tower in Zilker Metropolitan Park each December.","citation":"https://savingplaces.org/stories/austin-moontowers-by-the-numbers","source_title":"Austin's Iconic Moontowers By The Numbers - Preservation Magazine","source_type":"official","allowed_use":"canonical_data","retrieved_at":"2026-06-14T18:29:01.570782+00:00","fact_type":"anecdote","as_of":"2026","confidence":1.0},{"claim":"The towers were erected in 1894 and 1895, fabricated by the Fort Wayne Electric Company, and shipped in pieces to Austin.","citation":"https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/moonlight-towers","source_title":"Exploring Austin's Historic Moonlight Towers - Handbook of Texas","source_type":"official","allowed_use":"canonical_data","retrieved_at":"2026-06-14T18:29:00.548599+00:00","fact_type":"history","as_of":"1894-1895","confidence":1.0},{"claim":"They are 165 feet tall, of vertical truss assembly, and braced by guy wires.","citation":"https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/moonlight-towers","source_title":"Exploring Austin's Historic Moonlight Towers - Handbook of Texas","source_type":"official","allowed_use":"canonical_data","retrieved_at":"2026-06-14T18:29:00.548599+00:00","fact_type":"architecture","as_of":"2026","confidence":1.0},{"claim":"In 1925, the towers were converted to incandescent lamps, and in 1936, to mercury-vapor lamps.","citation":"https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/moonlight-towers","source_title":"Exploring Austin's Historic Moonlight Towers - Handbook of Texas","source_type":"official","allowed_use":"canonical_data","retrieved_at":"2026-06-14T18:29:00.548599+00:00","fact_type":"history","as_of":"1936","confidence":1.0},{"claim":"In the early 1990s, seventeen still stood, most of them in old residential neighborhoods near downtown.","citation":"https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/moonlight-towers","source_title":"Exploring Austin's Historic Moonlight Towers - Handbook of Texas","source_type":"official","allowed_use":"canonical_data","retrieved_at":"2026-06-14T18:29:00.548599+00:00","fact_type":"history","as_of":"early 1990s","confidence":1.0},{"claim":"Erected in 1895, Austin’s first electrical public street lighting system consisted of 31 individual moonlight towers spread across the city.","citation":"https://guidetoaustinarchitecture.com/places/moonlight-tower/","source_title":"Moonlight Towers - Guide To Austin Architecture","source_type":"official","allowed_use":"canonical_data","retrieved_at":"2026-06-14T18:28:59.561736+00:00","fact_type":"history","as_of":"1895","confidence":1.0},{"claim":"The distinctive 165-foot-tall truss structures each contained six carbon arc lamps that illuminated a 1,500-foot radius.","citation":"https://guidetoaustinarchitecture.com/places/moonlight-tower/","source_title":"Moonlight Towers - Guide To Austin Architecture","source_type":"official","allowed_use":"canonical_data","retrieved_at":"2026-06-14T18:28:59.561736+00:00","fact_type":"architecture","as_of":"1895","confidence":1.0},{"claim":"Today, only 17 of the 31 original towers are accounted for; a mere six stand in their original locations and four are temporarily dismantled.","citation":"https://guidetoaustinarchitecture.com/places/moonlight-tower/","source_title":"Moonlight Towers - Guide To Austin Architecture","source_type":"official","allowed_use":"canonical_data","retrieved_at":"2026-06-14T18:28:59.561736+00:00","fact_type":"history","as_of":"2026","confidence":1.0},{"claim":"They are the only known surviving moonlight towers in the world.","citation":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonlight_towers_(Austin,_Texas)","source_title":"Moonlight towers (Austin, Texas) - Wikipedia","source_type":"manual","allowed_use":"facts_with_citation","retrieved_at":"2026-06-14T18:28:58.596241+00:00","fact_type":"significance","as_of":"2026","confidence":1.0},{"claim":"They are 165 feet (50 m) tall with a 15-foot (4.6 m) foundation.","citation":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonlight_towers_(Austin,_Texas)","source_title":"Moonlight towers (Austin, Texas) - Wikipedia","source_type":"manual","allowed_use":"facts_with_citation","retrieved_at":"2026-06-14T18:28:58.596241+00:00","fact_type":"architecture","as_of":"2026","confidence":1.0},{"claim":"A single tower casts light from six carbon arc lamps, illuminating a 1,500-foot-radius circle brightly enough to read a watch.","citation":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonlight_towers_(Austin,_Texas)","source_title":"Moonlight towers (Austin, Texas) - Wikipedia","source_type":"manual","allowed_use":"facts_with_citation","retrieved_at":"2026-06-14T18:28:58.596241+00:00","fact_type":"architecture","as_of":"early years","confidence":1.0},{"claim":"In 1970, the towers were recognized as Texas State Landmarks, and in 1976, 15 were listed in the National Register of Historic Places.","citation":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonlight_towers_(Austin,_Texas)","source_title":"Moonlight towers (Austin, Texas) - Wikipedia","source_type":"manual","allowed_use":"facts_with_citation","retrieved_at":"2026-06-14T18:28:58.596241+00:00","fact_type":"significance","as_of":"1976","confidence":1.0}],"sources":[{"title":"Roadside America: Moonlight Tower","url":"https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/29965","source_type":"official","allowed_use":"canonical_data","retrieved_at":"2026-06-14T18:29:05.201077+00:00","license":"unknown"},{"title":"Modern Times - In a Blaze of Glory: Austin's Moonlight Towers","url":"https://www.nchmuseum.org/nchm-events/mt-moontower","source_type":"official","allowed_use":"canonical_data","retrieved_at":"2026-06-14T18:29:04.376066+00:00","license":"unknown"},{"title":"Moonlight Towers - Austin, TX","url":"https://www.austintexas.org/listings/moonlight-towers/5895/","source_type":"official","allowed_use":"canonical_data","retrieved_at":"2026-06-14T18:29:03.508822+00:00","license":"unknown"},{"title":"Austin's Iconic Moontowers By The Numbers - Preservation Magazine","url":"https://savingplaces.org/stories/austin-moontowers-by-the-numbers","source_type":"official","allowed_use":"canonical_data","retrieved_at":"2026-06-14T18:29:01.570782+00:00","license":"unknown"},{"title":"Exploring Austin's Historic Moonlight Towers - Handbook of Texas","url":"https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/moonlight-towers","source_type":"official","allowed_use":"canonical_data","retrieved_at":"2026-06-14T18:29:00.548599+00:00","license":"unknown"},{"title":"Moonlight Towers - Guide To Austin Architecture","url":"https://guidetoaustinarchitecture.com/places/moonlight-tower/","source_type":"official","allowed_use":"canonical_data","retrieved_at":"2026-06-14T18:28:59.561736+00:00","license":"unknown"},{"title":"Moonlight towers (Austin, Texas) - Wikipedia","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonlight_towers_(Austin,_Texas)","source_type":"manual","allowed_use":"facts_with_citation","retrieved_at":"2026-06-14T18:28:58.596241+00:00","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0"}],"commercial_actions":[],"source_policy":{"booking_links_are_evidence":false,"denied_as_evidence":["google_places","google","yelp","tripadvisor"],"allowed_uses":["canonical_data","facts_with_citation","anecdote"]}}