II. Artifacts

Artifacts are objects that remain preserved in, or close to, their original condition. Artifacts do not necessarily exist to meet a current need, but to act as a physical reminder of its past purpose. The most interesting artifact found in Mission Hill was an old streetlamp. Hardly noticeable from any of the main streets, this streetlamp has remained nestled in the back of a small parking lot off Wigglesworth Avenue between three buildings. The pole of the lamp was painted black metal and imprinted
with the year 1899. A decorative lantern sat on top and appears to have once been fueled by gas. In all, the street lamp is only about eight feet tall. According to the 1919 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map , there used to be an alley behind the Wigglesworth Avenue row houses. This lamp, and probably others like it, was used to illuminate this alley. The alley that was open in 1919 is today divided by fences that create small backyards. Only this single lamp remains today. The reason for this artifact’s continued existence when street lighting became electric, is most likely for its ambiguous location on land that is neither within the property boundaries of any of the buildings nor clearly part of the parking lot.