1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:06,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:11,200 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:14,560 Speaker 1: show for those who can never know enough about history. 4 00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:18,960 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Lucier, and today we're looking back at a 5 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:22,800 Speaker 1: fleeting moment in the twentieth century when parking garages were 6 00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:26,079 Speaker 1: inviting and deficient, and no one had to spend half 7 00:00:26,079 --> 00:00:34,360 Speaker 1: an hour hunting for a space after the day was 8 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:39,720 Speaker 1: December fifth, nineteen fifty one, the parka Matt driverless parking 9 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:45,400 Speaker 1: garage opened in Washington, DC. Car ownership rose dramatically in 10 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:49,319 Speaker 1: Postwar America, and the massive influx of new vehicles had 11 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:51,640 Speaker 1: made it harder than ever to find a place to park, 12 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:56,400 Speaker 1: especially in the nation's growing cities. The parka Matt aimed 13 00:00:56,440 --> 00:01:00,240 Speaker 1: to solve that problem through the wonders of automation. It's 14 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:03,680 Speaker 1: time and the spotlight proved short lived, the service left 15 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:06,959 Speaker 1: a lasting impact on the shape of america cities and 16 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:10,600 Speaker 1: its approach to the ever present challenges of urban parking. 17 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:14,959 Speaker 1: In the early days of automobiles, there were no specialized 18 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:18,319 Speaker 1: buildings in which to store them. Most people kept their 19 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:21,120 Speaker 1: cars in a carriage house or stable right next to 20 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:24,160 Speaker 1: their horse, and when out and about. They typically parked 21 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:26,840 Speaker 1: on the street, which was rarely a problem since there 22 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:30,000 Speaker 1: were so few cars on the road. It wasn't until 23 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:34,000 Speaker 1: the nineteen twenties that dedicated parking garages began to pop 24 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:37,600 Speaker 1: up in American cities, but they weren't the concrete boxes 25 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:40,480 Speaker 1: that most of us are used to today. Many of 26 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:44,320 Speaker 1: the early multi story parking structures looked like normal office 27 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:48,480 Speaker 1: or apartment buildings, complete with glass windows and decorative finishes, 28 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:52,280 Speaker 1: and instead of driving your car inside and parking yourself, 29 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:54,960 Speaker 1: you'd stop at the entrance and hand off your keys 30 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:58,919 Speaker 1: to a parking attendant, much like valet service. Some early 31 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:02,640 Speaker 1: garages featured a pair of spiral ramps so the attendants 32 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:06,240 Speaker 1: could move cars on and off the various floors. Other 33 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:10,800 Speaker 1: garages opted for mechanical lifts instead. In that setup, a 34 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:13,760 Speaker 1: car would be driven onto a platform, lifted to a 35 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:16,679 Speaker 1: different floor using a pulley system, and then parked in 36 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:21,200 Speaker 1: an available space by the attendant. Both arrangements required a 37 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:24,679 Speaker 1: robust workforce, and even then it was a fairly time 38 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:29,400 Speaker 1: intensive process to park and retrieve each vehicle. That drawback 39 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:32,679 Speaker 1: was only compounded as the years went by and more 40 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:35,680 Speaker 1: and more drivers took to the streets. By the early 41 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:39,280 Speaker 1: nineteen fifties, cities were scrambling to find the best way 42 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:42,000 Speaker 1: to cram as many cars as they could into the 43 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:46,119 Speaker 1: smallest space possible, and that's where the parka Mat came in. 44 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 1: Located on K Street Northwest in Washington, d C. The 45 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:53,600 Speaker 1: one of a kind facility was the nation's first fully 46 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:58,520 Speaker 1: automated parking garage. Built as an experimental prototype by Parking 47 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:03,280 Speaker 1: Services Incorporated, the garage had no ramps, aisles, or lanes 48 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:07,120 Speaker 1: and was operated by just a single attendant. Taking its 49 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:10,799 Speaker 1: queue from innovative businesses like the automat and the laundromat, 50 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:15,760 Speaker 1: The Parkamat employed new technology and clever design to maximize 51 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:19,720 Speaker 1: its volume and cut down wait times for customers. The 52 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 1: seventeen story structure occupied a lot that was just twenty 53 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:26,799 Speaker 1: five feet wide and forty feet deep, but despite its 54 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:30,239 Speaker 1: minuscule footprint, the garage could store up to seventy two 55 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:33,640 Speaker 1: vehicles at once. This was achieved through the use of 56 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:38,000 Speaker 1: two freight elevators and a custom made vehicle parking apparatus, 57 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 1: which was basically a huge revolving turntable that could deposit 58 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:46,320 Speaker 1: cars into the nearest open space. That contraption allowed the 59 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:49,080 Speaker 1: garage to be run by a lone attendant, as he 60 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:52,960 Speaker 1: no longer had to park each individual car. Instead, a 61 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:56,240 Speaker 1: customer could simply pull into the garage, leave the vehicle 62 00:03:56,280 --> 00:03:59,040 Speaker 1: in neutral, and grab a claim ticket from the attendant. 63 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:02,200 Speaker 1: Then the push of a button, one of the elevators 64 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:04,840 Speaker 1: would whisk the car away to an open space, and 65 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:08,760 Speaker 1: the parka MAT's turntable would do the rest. The driverless 66 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:12,680 Speaker 1: system could also retrieve cars just as easily, returning them 67 00:04:12,680 --> 00:04:16,520 Speaker 1: to ground level in under a minute. The time saving 68 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:19,479 Speaker 1: and space saving benefits of the parkamat made it a 69 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:22,279 Speaker 1: hit with the public, and other garages were quick to 70 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:26,800 Speaker 1: copy its mechanized process. The trend didn't last long, though, 71 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:30,640 Speaker 1: as the structures were situated on prime downtown real estate, 72 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:34,159 Speaker 1: and once property values rose along with the cities, it 73 00:04:34,279 --> 00:04:37,359 Speaker 1: no longer made sense to use the land strictly for parking. 74 00:04:37,839 --> 00:04:40,680 Speaker 1: The site of the original parka Mat, for example, is 75 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:43,760 Speaker 1: now home to a standard glass office building, and it's 76 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:47,560 Speaker 1: loaded with people rather than cars. The influence of the 77 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:51,000 Speaker 1: Parkamat can still be seen in the automated parking systems 78 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:55,520 Speaker 1: of today. Most garages use computer kiosks to dispense tickets 79 00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:58,760 Speaker 1: and collect payments, and if any human employees are present 80 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:02,920 Speaker 1: at all, its general just one attendant. The key difference 81 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:06,720 Speaker 1: is that drivers now park their cars themselves, granting them 82 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:09,200 Speaker 1: the freedom to enter and exit at their own pace, 83 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:12,600 Speaker 1: at the expense of having to navigate maze like aisles 84 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:18,039 Speaker 1: and twisting ramps. Those utilitarian design features represent the biggest 85 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:22,320 Speaker 1: drawback to the rise of self parking. The architectural flourishes 86 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:27,200 Speaker 1: and mechanical novelties that characterized early garages were gradually stripped away, 87 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:30,640 Speaker 1: leaving nothing but the drab, cookie cutter eye sores that 88 00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:34,760 Speaker 1: clutter the urban landscape today. The good news is that 89 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:37,480 Speaker 1: in recent years there's been a push to make parking 90 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:41,320 Speaker 1: structures more architecturally appealing, and there are even a few 91 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:45,400 Speaker 1: fully automated garages still kicking around. In Washington, d C. 92 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:49,680 Speaker 1: For instance, the Camden Grand Park apartment Buildings provides its 93 00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:53,719 Speaker 1: tenants with automated valet parking, and New York City boasts 94 00:05:53,760 --> 00:05:59,560 Speaker 1: several robotic garages as well. Beautifying existing parking garages isn't 95 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:02,880 Speaker 1: a top for most cities, and it probably shouldn't be, 96 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:06,719 Speaker 1: but the hope is that going forward, architects and urban 97 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:10,640 Speaker 1: planners can strike a better balance between utility and aesthetics. 98 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:14,560 Speaker 1: So while you'll never be able to avoid parking garages completely, 99 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:17,080 Speaker 1: at least the time you spend there will be a 100 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:23,640 Speaker 1: lot more pleasant. I'm Gabe Lucier and hopefully you now 101 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:27,200 Speaker 1: know a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 102 00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:29,640 Speaker 1: If you want to keep up with the show, you 103 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:33,440 Speaker 1: can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at TDI 104 00:06:33,839 --> 00:06:37,440 Speaker 1: HC Show, and if you have any comments or suggestions, 105 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:39,960 Speaker 1: feel free to pass them along by writing to this 106 00:06:40,160 --> 00:06:44,400 Speaker 1: Day at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for 107 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:47,440 Speaker 1: producing the show, and thanks to you for listening. I'll 108 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:50,520 Speaker 1: see you back here again tomorrow for another day in 109 00:06:50,760 --> 00:07:04,560 Speaker 1: History class.