Moonlight Tower - San Jose, California

San Jose, California

In 1881, a 237-foot (72 m)-tall moonlight tower was erected in San Jose, California, making it the first city to be illuminated by an electric light west of the Rocky Mountains. The tower was at Santa Clara and Market Streets, and stood until it collapsed in a storm on Dec. 3, 1915.

It was James Jerome ("J.J.") Owens who came up with the idea for the tower. The New York native was a printer by trade. He eventually became publisher of the San Jose Mercury newspaper, and was a civic leader for years. He got the idea after he visited the first electrical lighting station in San Francisco in 1879.

In 1977, a nearly half-sized replica (shown in a photo on the right) was constructed at the San Jose Historical Museum, also known as History San José, located at 1650 Senter Road, San Jose. The replica tower is 115 feet (35 m) tall. It is located approximately 3.2 miles (5.1 km) from the original location, which is about an 8-minute drive from History San José.