FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — Covered in dust, untouched for nearly a century, 82 lost lanterns were discovered inside a locked room beneath the Belmont underpass. Contractors working on the high-speed rail stumbled upon the enormous find this past summer, unsure of what they were.
“The Belmont subway was built in the late 30’s. It was a huge thing. It connected the city at that time to Roeding Park and other places,” says Elizabeth Laval, Fresno City & County Historical Society.
Intricate metal work, red and green paint; each one stands several feet tall. The hidden lanterns quickly became a mystery of history.
“I was looking at all the Pop Lavel photos from Roeding Park. I was looking at Chinese artifacts I was looking in Japanese temples. Everything I could think of,” says Laval.
After months of hitting dead ends, a major breakthrough. A Fresno Historical Society Archivist inspected one of the lanterns and found internal electrical components that led to a crucial detail, a stamp on a plug.
“The plug read ‘Bryant Spartan’. It gave me the time frame, which is 1918 to 1940 and then that time frame gave me a better window to search,” says Donald Spencer, Archivist at the Fresno Historical Society.
Using their extensive Fresno Bee archive, historians found an article from December 1931 that mentioned them directly, “Special lanterns of medieval design.” It read that the lanterns added Yuletide spirit during downtown’s holiday festivities. But they still wanted visual confirmation, so they used that time frame, and found an image of them matching the same year.
“No doubt about it, you can see the top. You can see the bulbs are lit,” says Laval.
Glistening light shined through the metal design that matched the lanterns. The photo is the final puzzle piece to solve the mystery.
Historians believe the lanterns were decorations placed on top of lamp posts, that lined Fulton street each December from the period of 1929 to 1931.
“There was a parade on Fulton street where these were put up, but these are part of the open house and there was also a parade that went down Fulton Street when these would’ve been up for those celebrations,” says Spencer.
Most of them sustained water damage from floods in the Belmont area along with age-related decay. Now, the historical society is focused on preservation and hope to one day bring them back to life.
“This is why our history is so important. Without all parts of these teams working together. People now think ‘oh history just get rid of it’ no, what would’ve happened if we had these lanterns, but couldn’t document it? This means all parts worked together,” says Laval.
They have not tried plugging them in yet because of the water damage, but their goal is to have them up and running in time for next year’s Christmas parade so the public can see them in action.
They are still researching their origin, specifically where they were made, and whether they are unique to Fresno. Nonetheless, they are a piece of Fresno history.
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