The Way We Work(ed): Parking Meters

The Way We Work(ed): Old / New Jobs

Parking meters were developed in the mid-1930s but really became urban fixtures in the 1950s as pressure for parking spaces became greater with more people driving cars.

In theory, parking meters encouraged a quick turnover of cars, and drivers were forced to accept them as a practical necessity for regulating parking. #DidYouKnow that by the early 1940s, there were more than 140,000 parking meters operating in the United States and by 1944, American cities were generating some $10 million annually from parking?

The job of Meter Maid or Parking Meter Reader was usually a part of the police department – the first meter maids in New York City were hired in 1960. Coin operated, spring-loaded, single space meters like this one, a Duncan meter circa 1965, were everywhere until recently when multi-space digital meters began to be seen in area downtowns.

The Duncan Company was and remains a major manufacturer of parking meters and parking systems since its founding in the 1930s, as a means of combatting urban parking issues. This meter required Troy City Officials to remove the coins within the meter on a regular basis.

Using this Duncan Parking Meter within the exhibition is a great tool in highlighting the way we work as well as illuminating the impact that urbanization has held and continues to have on how we work. See the slideshow below!