Star on the Mountain
La Estrella en la Montana
Star on the Mountain
The first star was built by El Paso Electric in 1940. It was only 50 feet wide and could barely be seen on the Carlsbad Highway. The star did not last long either. A storm blew out most of the bulbs on the first experimental star. Soon after that, a bigger and better star was built. This star was 403 feet long, 300 feet wide and used 300 lights. Improvements were made in 1946. The length was increased to 459 feet, the width reduced to 278 feet and 459 (150 W) lights were used. Today the star still has those same dimensions. The poles, which vary in height from 12 to 15 feet, start at the mountain top and run down to a point about 300 feet above Scenic Drive. The star sits at an angle of 30 degrees and appears to be "perfect" when viewed from the focal point at the intersection of Texas and Alameda Avenues. From its lofty height, the star may be seen from the East, 100 miles from the air and 30 miles from the ground. The poles are steel and are embedded in concrete. They are treated so they don’t rust. There are approximately 30 streamers that are hooked onto guy wire cables forming the star and are pulled into position. Some of the lights are separated by three feet and some by four feet, depending on whether their positions are in a vertical or horizontal line.
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