A moonlight tower or moontower is a lighting structure designed to illuminate areas of a town or city at night. Only the collection of towers in Austin, Texas, have been termed historically "moonlight towers," a term that dates to the mid-20th century.

The moonlight towers in Austin, Texas, are the only known surviving moonlight towers in the world. They are 165 feet (50 m) tall and have a 15-foot (4.6 m) foundation. A single tower casts light from six carbon arc lamps, illuminating a 1,500-foot-radius (460 m) circle brightly enough to read a watch. [2]

Mar 26, 2018 · Moonlight towers, also referred to as moon towers, liberated citizens from the constraints of nighttime and heralded Austin as “The Coming Great Manufacturer of the South.” Many speculated these lights would eliminate the need for police entirely.

There are 17 "Moonlight Towers" remaining in Austin, each 150 feet tall, supposedly built to thwart a 19th century serial killer named The Servant Girl Annihilator, and made famous by their appearance in the film "Dazed and Confused."

Erected in 1895, Austin’s first electrical public street lighting system consisted of 31 individual “moonlight towers” (or “moon towers”) spread across the city. The distinctive 165-foot-tall truss structures each contained six carbon arc lamps that illuminated a 1,500-foot radius.

Jul 19, 2023 · Explore the hidden gems of Austin, Texas, with this guide to its moonlight towers. Discover their origins as a pioneering form of nighttime lighting, how they've added to the city's iconic skyline over time, and why locals still revere these monuments today.

Jul 6, 2022 · Did you know Austin’s moonlight towers are the only surviving examples of these tower lighting systems, which were common across the country in the late 1800s? The towers originally used electricity from the city’s first power plant on the Colorado River.

This timeline of Austin's Moonlight Towers gives you their history at a glance. A brief history of the "ingenious system that illuminated the nights of the capital of Texas in the early days of electricity."

Apr 1, 1995 · The so-called "moonlight (or moon) towers" in Austin are the only surviving examples of the tower lighting systems that were common in American cities in the late 1800s. The towers, erected in 1894 and 1895, were fabricated by the Fort Wayne Electric Company and shipped in pieces to Austin.

Nov 18, 2007 · This is one of 31 original moonlight towers installed in Austin in 1895. Seventeen remain. Each tower illuminated a circle of 3000 feet using 6 carbon arc lamps (now mercury vapor). Austin's tower lights are the sole survivor of this once-popular ingenious lighting system.