Arny Krueger wrote:

When these places were wired (1910-1935), underground wiring was
prohibitively expensive. Underground became the rule in the 70's.

In those days having electricty was a big deal. It showed you were prosperous
and could afford the price of wiring, the cost of the things to run and the
cost of running them.

As part of the plan to recover from "the great depression", the US built
several large hydroelectric generating stations (and impressive dams to
provide the water), ran lots of lines and "electrified" most of rural
America (USA).

Pictures of the 1939 World's Fair GE pavlilion:

http://books.google.co.il/books?id=JKH-lgYU2dMC&pg=PA58&lpg=PA58&dq=1939+worlds+fair+ge+m ural&source=bl&ots=shpbj0aaCU&sig=RUEjwfTbkVBdpVt8 N3gkYRS1ppI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=02stT5qiCaKq0QW5sOSsCA&r edir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

Geoff.
--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, N3OWJ/4X1GM
My high blood pressure medicine reduces my midichlorian count. :-(