Dual Brand Parking Meter, circa 1948
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Artifact Overview
By the 1920s, automobile parking in cities was chaotic. Parking meters, introduced in Oklahoma City in 1935, proved to be the workable and enforceable solution. Carl Magee, inventor of the parking meter with help from local engineering professors and college students, named his company "Dual" -- supposedly because parking meters served the dual purpose of controlling parking and generating revenue.
Artifact Details
Artifact
Parking meter
Date Made
circa 1948
Creators
Place of Creation
Location
Not on exhibit to the public.
Object ID
79.17.2
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of City of Detroit Meter Shop.
Material
Metal
Inscriptions
Front: INSERT COIN / 60 MINUTES / PARKING [illegible] / DETROIT
Back: DUAL / DB 93
Keywords |
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Related Content
SetParking
- 27 Artifacts
America's cars symbolize mobility, but they spend 95 percent of their time parked. Storing cars is a longstanding challenge, and every solution brings new problems. Parking lots and structures transform urban and suburban landscapes, parking meters and tickets exasperate city drivers, and residential garages have moved from the back yard onto the house itself. There are as many as a billion parking spots in the United States -- one heck of a lot.