16 Dec The Lighted Star of Palawoo
By Mike Gambino
This week I had a rare opportunity, along with my friend and colleague Mark Carlson of Avalon landscape lighting of Sacramento, to visit the former estate of the father of outdoor lighting F.B. Nightingale in Altadena California which is about 50 minute drive from my home base in Simi Valley. Mark and I are putting the finishing touches on a book about landscape lighting that we have spent most of this past year working on. Every internet search I have done on F.B. Nightingale has always returned very little. But for years Nightingale’s “Star of Palawoo” has been at the top of the search engine lists. I had mentioned to Mark earlier in the week how it would be great to some day visit the estate of Nightingale and view the star close up. I sent him a link to Bill Westphal’s blog post (see below) about the star.
Mark e-mailed Bill earlier in the week and asked if it would be OK to get the e-mail address of the current owner of the star and Nightingale estate Dr. Phil Elkins. Bill quickly responded to Mark’s e-mail and supplied Dr Elkin’s e-mail. Mark e-mailed the Dr and explained who we were , that we are landscape lighting designer builders and were currently finishing up a book about landscape lighting and that we were very interested in F.B. Nightingale and the preservation of the history of the father of outdoor lighting. Then Mark asked if it would be OK to get a tour of the Nightingale Palawoo estate and star of palawoo which sits high on a hill that towers over the former Nightingale residence.
Doctor Elkins responded that he normally doesn’t grant such requests but under our special set of circumstances and the fact that we were big Nightingale “fans” he would make an exception and we were welcome to come and he would give us a tour. In future blog posts I will be sharing some of the many things we learned about Nightingale but this article is about the star so for now we will stay on topic.
Dr Elkins was an amazing tour guide and host. The hike up the steep slope to view the star close up is a challenge even for young physically fit persons. Mark and I are several years younger than the Doctor and we trailed behind him as he led the way up the steep slope filling us with historical facts and information all the way to the top.
When we arrived at the peak the views were amazing. It had rained earlier in the day so the sky was relatively clear, for Los Angeles standards at least. One could see downtown, signal hill in Long Beach, the Palos Verdes penninsula and all the way to Catalina Island and the Pacific ocean. Just a breathtaking vista point and well worth the effort to get to this location. Below is a a view looking east from the star’s vantage point.
A view to the south.
Dr. Elkins with the star of Palawoo over his left shoulder as we stopped for a breather before continuing on to the landing the star is located on.
Below is a photo I took of the star as I crested the hill and first got a full view of it.
Below is a photo I took about three quarters of the way up the hill to the star. The tile roof of the Nightingale residence is barely visible below the steep hill. Palawoo is an American Indian word for birds nest. It appears the home was built like a birds nest would be tucked into a crevice at the base of the hill. Nightingale’s shop and display room where he entertained clients is visible by the tile roofed building just above and to the left of the main residence in the photo.
Above the star is Echo Mountain, also referred to as Mount Echo, was delineated as part of the Mount Lowe Railway monument area listed by the U.S. Forest Service on the National Register of Historic Places.
Dr. Elkins has recently installed blue LED Christmas style lights on the same metal frame built by Nightingale (after the original wood frame burned in a wildfire along with its telephone pole support) and illuminates the star every evening to carry on the tradition started by Nightingale in the 1920’s during the holiday season. This lighted star is a big deal to area locals during the holiday season and part of the history of the area. The star in particular reflects not only the hope of the season, but the hope of a community. The brilliant blue Star of Palawoo, on a hill above Altadena, has been lit during the holidays for many years. In August of 2009, the homeowner Dr. Elkins lit it as the Station Fire in the Angeles Forest ripped across the mountainsides and forced hundreds of Altadena residents to evacuate. The star was a sign that the community would pull together during the disaster.
Below is Mark Carlson, Mike Gambino and Dr. Elkins taken by Mark’s son who joined us on our journey. Photo taken just as the sun was a golden orange and was beginning to set in the western sky.
Although Dr Elkins was a gracious host and excellent and informative tour guide for us the Palawoo estate is a private residence located on a private road in a quiet community. Please do not attempt to contact the Dr. or gain entry to the private property or otherwise disturb the occupants of this private estate.
I want to thank Bill Westphal, Mark Carlson and Dr. Elkins for a truly memorable experience.
Below is the original blog post by Bill Westphal that got me interested in the star several years ago.
The Star Of Palawoo
Known as the Star of Palawoo , the star was originally built by F. B. Nightingale in the late 20’s. Nightingale was manager of the Lighting Department of the General Electric Supply Corporation of Los Angeles at the time and has been referred to as “the Father of Outdoor Lighting”. His Star was said to be the first gift to the world of that technology.
Nightingale erected the Star on a crest above his distinctive home located in the foothills above Altadena. His estate was called “Palawoo”, an Indian word for “Birds Nest”. The original Star was made from wood. It was 35 feet high and had 75 Forty-Watt light bulbs. The Star made it’s debut during the Christmas Season of 1928. The photos below show Nightingale working on the wooden star.
One of the interesting notes about the Star is that in the early days before Altadena’s imported forestation had grown to what it is today, one could see the Star from Christmas Tree Lane as it had a perfect alignment with Santa Rosa Ave. The Star was featured in a Pasadena Star News article published December 20, 1929. This is a quote from the article:
“Just below the lighted star will be the famous “Mile of Christmas Trees” on Santa Rosa Avenue, which attracts thousands of autoists each year from all parts of Southern California. The star, alone on the crest of the Sierra above, will be the only light in the dark, silent mountain area. This Christmas will be the second holiday season the star will have been lighted”.
The Star continued to shine around the Christmas Season for many years. It was featured in other publications, including an article in the “Electrical Dealer” magazine in November of 1930. Then on October 25 1935, a fast moving brush fire swept across the foothills above Altadena. It destroyed a trestle on the Incline Railway along with other parts of Echo Mountain . It also destroyed Nightingale’s wooden Star of Palawoo. Nightingale would not be deterred however, and rebuilt the Star. This time he made it with metal. The Star continued to shine around Christmas for quite some time but it’s unclear exactly how long.
The Nightingale Estate was purchased by Dr. Elkins in 1989. He was unaware of the Star and had lived there a while before noticing the old broken wire running up the hill behind his house. Using binoculars, Dr. Elkins could see a pole up on the hill, hiked up to investigate and found the Star lying on the ground. He erected the Star again and rewired it using conventional outdoor Christmas lights. The Star of Palawoo would shine again.
Recently, in January of 2006, the Star was knocked down again by high winds gusting more than 40 miles per hour. Dr. Elkins had a tough time but was able to get the Star back up again. He hopes to find an Electrician willing to help him rebuild the Star using brighter bulbs much like those used by F. B. Nightingale on the original Star of Palawoo
Special thanks to Dr. Elkins for information and photos of the Star
and to Mike Manning (Mr. Altadena) for additional information on the Star.
This landscape lighting blog is published by Mike Gambino of Gambino landscape lighting inc. all rights reserved. Mike is a professional landscape lighting system designer/ builder and has been designing, installing and maintaining landscape lighting systems for more than 20 years. Mike resides in the Los Angeles area with his wife and 2 sons. To visit his website go to www.gambinolighting.com . To inquire about hiring Mike please click here .
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