America 250 Candidate: Parking Meter
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AUTOMATION HISTORY · AMERICA 250 · REPLACEMENT CANDIDATE
Parking Meter
American milestone: 1935 · Carl C. Magee · Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Status: Replacement candidate. Final number pending chronology audit.
Why it belongs in America 250
Carl Magee developed a mechanical device to measure and regulate the use of individual parking spaces. The first large installation of parking meters began in Oklahoma City on July 16, 1935.
Connection to automation
The parking meter automated time measurement, fee collection and a portion of parking enforcement, turning a manually supervised civic process into a standardized machine-controlled service.