Morris column

Morris columns (French: "Colonne Morris") are cylindrical outdoor sidewalk structures with a characteristic style that are used for advertising and other purposes. They are common in the city of Berlin, Germany, but traditionally have been closely associated with the city of Paris, although they were invented by Ernst Litfaß in 1854. Therefore it is known as "Litfaßsäule" (Litfaß column) in Germany, and can be found all over the country there.

In France originally built by "La Société Fermière des Colonnes Morris", from which they derive their name, they are mostly built and maintained today by the JCDecaux company, which purchased Morris in 1986. [cite web | url=http://www.jcdecaux.com/content/jcdecaux_fr/innovationdesign/40ans/40gamme8.html | title=Colonne | work=40 ans d'innovation | accessdate=2006-05-19 | author=JCDecaux]

Purposes

Morris columns are most typically used to display advertisements in the form of posters; many such advertisements have traditionally concerned theater, cinema, nightclub, and concert announcements. Some are motorized and rotate very slowly. A few Morris columns house Sanisettes or telephone booths. At the beginning of 2006, there were 790 Morris columns in Paris, of which 18 contained telephones and six contained Sanisettes. Some 233 Morris columns are scheduled to be removed in the near future.

Notes

References

* [http://www.paris.fr/portail/deplacements/Portal.lut?page_id=19&document_type_id=5&document_id=4924&portlet_id=652 Mobilier Urbain] – Inventory of street installations in Paris (in French)
* [http://www.20minutes.fr 20 Minutes] – “Les colonnes Morris en voie de disparition”, "20 Minutes (Paris)", 6 January 2006, "Grand Paris" p. 4 (in French)
* [http://www.jcdecaux.com JC Decaux] – Current manufacturer of Morris columns

ee also

* Litfaß column