Bevolo Gas and Electric Lights

Bevolo Gas and Electric Lights is a New Orleans-area lighting manufacturer and design business specializing in handmade copper lanterns for gas and electric illumination. Founded in 1945 by Andrew Bevolo, Sr., the company developed from its founder's industrial and engineering experience, including work associated with Ford, Igor Sikorsky, and Andrew Higgins. It remains a family-operated business, with Andrew Bevolo, III identified as its current operator in reference material. The company is particularly associated with New Orleans architecture and the visual identity of the French Quarter. Its products are made by hand in the New Orleans area from antiqued copper and use hand-riveting rather than soldering. Bevolo presents hand-riveting as a durable construction method that helps preserve the lantern's condition over time. The company's French Quarter Lamp, developed in collaboration with architect A. Hays Town during the twentieth century, became a signature design and an important part of its historical identity. Bevolo manufactures both gas and electric lighting, including lanterns, wall-mounted brackets, interior fixtures, and custom installations. The business offers more than 500 combinations of lights and brackets, as well as made-to-order designs. Its design services help customers select fixtures that are appropriately scaled and architecturally compatible with a building. Products are described as ETL approved. The brand serves a range of restaurant, commercial, residential, and hospitality customers, with a particular focus on affluent and design-conscious buyers. Bevolo fixtures are prominent in New Orleans's French Quarter and have also been used on residences in the historic Garden District. Its products have appeared in television programs and films, helping reinforce the brand's association with Southern architecture, historic preservation, and distinctive New Orleans streetscapes. Following Hurricane Katrina, Bevolo expanded its physical and operational footprint by opening a manufacturing location in Covington, Louisiana, and a retail location in Mandeville. In 2009, it opened an additional retail store on Royal Street in the French Quarter. These locations display historic gas and electric lanterns and sell company-made interior lighting, furniture, antiques, and related products. The business combines manufacturing, architectural design assistance, retail presentation, and custom production rather than operating solely as a standardized lighting catalogue brand.

Bevolo Gas and Electric Lights was founded in 1945 by Andrew Bevolo, Sr. The founder brought experience from industrial and engineering work connected with Ford, Igor Sikorsky, and Andrew Higgins. That background informed the company's emphasis on fabrication, construction quality, and functional lighting design. Bevolo grew as a family business rather than as a publicly listed lighting conglomerate. A defining development in the company's history was its use of hand-riveting for copper lantern construction. Bevolo treated the technique as an alternative to soldering and associated it with durability and the ability to maintain a clean, lasting appearance. The company's lanterns were fabricated by hand from antiqued copper in the New Orleans area, linking the production process to the region's architectural and craft traditions. During the twentieth century, architect A. Hays Town worked with Andrew Bevolo, Sr. on the French Quarter Lamp. The design became closely associated with New Orleans's historic streetscapes and helped establish Bevolo's signature visual language. Its lanterns became particularly visible in the French Quarter and on residences in the Garden District, where lighting forms part of the architectural character of historic buildings. The company later broadened its product range beyond traditional exterior gas lanterns. It produced electric versions, interior lighting, brackets, furniture, and custom fixtures, while also providing design assistance intended to ensure that a fixture's size and appearance fit its architectural setting. Reference material describes a range of more than 500 light and bracket combinations, alongside made-to-order work. The products are described as ETL approved. Hurricane Katrina marked an important operational period for the business. After the storm, Bevolo opened a manufacturing facility in Covington, Louisiana, and a retail location in Mandeville. These additions extended the company's production and customer-facing operations within the region. In 2009, Bevolo added a store on Royal Street in New Orleans's French Quarter. The retail locations presented the company's historic gas and electric lanterns while also offering interior lighting, furniture, antiques, and other company-made products. Bevolo's business model combines heritage manufacturing, architectural consultation, custom production, and retail. Its customer base includes residential owners, restaurants, commercial properties, and other design-led projects. The company is positioned toward higher-income customers who value handcrafted materials, historical references, and customization. Its association with New Orleans architecture has also been reinforced by appearances of its products in television and film. The business remains family operated, with Andrew Bevolo, III identified as its current operator in the available reference material.

• 2009

  Royal Street retail location opened

  [1]Bevolo Gas and Electric Lightsen.wikipedia.org

  Bevolo opened a retail location on Royal Street in New Orleans's French Quarter.

• 1945

  Company founded

  [1]Bevolo Gas and Electric Lightsen.wikipedia.org

  Andrew Bevolo, Sr. founded Bevolo Gas and Electric Lights as a family lighting business in the New Orleans area.

• French Quarter Lamp developed

  [1]Bevolo Gas and Electric Lightsen.wikipedia.org

  Architect A. Hays Town worked with Andrew Bevolo, Sr. during the twentieth century to develop the company's trademark French Quarter Lamp.

• Post-Katrina operational expansion

  [1]Bevolo Gas and Electric Lightsen.wikipedia.org

  Following Hurricane Katrina, Bevolo opened a manufacturing location in Covington and a retail location in Mandeville, Louisiana.

A premium, heritage-oriented lighting maker centered on New Orleans craftsmanship, hand-riveted antiqued copper construction, architectural suitability, and custom design.

• Architectural lantern

  French Quarter Lamp

  Bevolo's signature French Quarter Lamp was developed during the twentieth century with architect A. Hays Town and Andrew Bevolo, Sr. It reflects the company's New Orleans architectural heritage and is associated with the historic visual character of the French Quarter. The design is offered within Bevolo's gas and electric lighting tradition and can be used as a prominent exterior architectural fixture.

• Exterior lighting · 1945

  Handmade copper gas lanterns

  These lanterns are fabricated by hand in the New Orleans area from antiqued copper. Bevolo's construction method uses hand-riveting rather than soldering, a process the company associates with durability and a lasting appearance. The lanterns are used in residential, restaurant, commercial, and historic architectural settings, particularly around New Orleans.

• Lighting

  Electric lanterns and interior lighting

  Alongside gas fixtures, Bevolo produces electric lanterns and interior lighting for customers who want the company's copper construction and historic styling without gas illumination. The range includes multiple fixture and bracket combinations, and the company provides design assistance to help select suitable dimensions and architectural proportions.

• Architectural lighting services

  Custom lighting

  Bevolo undertakes custom-made lighting in addition to its standard combinations. Its design services are intended to match fixtures to the scale and architectural character of a project. This offering supports residential, restaurant, commercial, and other high-end installations requiring nonstandard dimensions or a coordinated lighting scheme.

• Home furnishings

  Furniture and related furnishings

  The company's retail locations also sell furniture, antiques, and other products manufactured by Bevolo. These goods extend the brand's presentation beyond lighting and support its role as a source of historically influenced interior and exterior design products.

• 2009

  Opened a Royal Street French Quarter storeStrategy

  Background

  Bevolo's brand identity is strongly connected with New Orleans's historic architecture and the French Quarter.

  Action taken

  The company opened a retail location on Royal Street in the French Quarter.

  Aftermath

  The store provided a high-visibility venue for historic gas and electric lanterns, interior lighting, furniture, antiques, and other products.

  Source

• Expanded manufacturing and retail after Hurricane KatrinaStrategy

  Background

  Hurricane Katrina created a major disruption for businesses in the New Orleans region. Reference material identifies the period after the storm as the point when Bevolo opened a manufacturing location in Covington and a retail location in Mandeville.

  Action taken

  Bevolo broadened its Louisiana operating footprint rather than relying only on its New Orleans-area base.

  Aftermath

  The expansion gave the family business additional manufacturing capacity and retail presence in the region.

  Source

1. 1Bevolo Gas and Electric Lightsen.wikipedia.org