Parking meter turns 90: It all started in OKC

Photo courtesy: © Oklahoma Historical Society

Ninety years ago this week, Oklahoma City introduced a small sidewalk device that revolutionized downtown areas everywhere. On July 16, 1935, the first parking meter, Park-O-Meter No. 1, was installed at First Street and Robinson Avenue in downtown OKC. It charged a nickel for an hour.

In the early 1930s, downtown workers parked all day and blocked the curb, forcing shoppers to circle the block. Local merchants complained, and the OKC Chamber of Commerce appointed newspaperman Carl C. Magee to its traffic committee to find a solution.

Magee advocated for a coin-timed system to improve turnover. He filed an early patent in 1932 and collaborated with engineers at what is now Oklahoma State University. Professor H. G. Thuesen and former student Gerald Hale helped develop the device nicknamed the “Black Maria.”

OKC tested 175 meters across 14 blocks downtown, beginning July 16, 1935. The nickel meters proved successful, prompting OKC to expand them throughout downtown. Retailers appreciated the faster turnover, and other cities soon adopted the idea. By the early 1940s, parking meters were spreading across the nation.

Today, using a parking meter is routine, but the concept originated right here in OKC. Celebrating the 90th anniversary reminds us that a local traffic problem led to a worldwide urban solution.