Press Release
Wednesday, May 20, 2105
Contact: Liz Swaine, Executive Director
Downtown Development Authority
318-222-7403
Go On Patrol with Your Personal Park-O-Meter!
(A Limited Number of Meters found Discovered In Cardboard Box. Short Time Offer!)
In 2014, a handful of lucky people were first in line purchase (vaguely) historic, (not at all) collectible Park-O-Meters. These meters served a long and glorious career and it was time for them to retire.
As we were moving items recently, we made the amazing discovery of one final box of meters! We aren’t sure who the hoarder is on staff (no one would admit it) but THESE METERS MUST GO, TOO!
Intact meters will sell for $45 each, housings are $10 each, guts are $10 each, you can buy as many as you want. Limited number of double head meters for $90. The meters do not come with opening keys as we are not total fools.
Meters will be available for purchase in person for a limited time beginning today. You may see the meters and choose one for your very own Monday- Friday 8:30 am- 5:00 pm at 401 Edwards (Louisiana Tower) Suite 205 until Thursday, May 28 or all the units are gone. Cash or credit card only, please.
Buy your very OWN Park-O-Meter parking meter and watch, transfixed, as it counts down from 2 hours to Expired! Put money in it and not be able to retrieve it! Hit it with a stick if you feel it shorted you 30 seconds… after all, it will be your very OWN personal meter!
These Park-O-Meters, circa 1980s, are descendants of the very FIRST Magee Park-O-Meter installed in downtown Oklahoma City on July 16, 1935. A newspaper reporter by trade, Carl Magee went on to special infamy. In the 1920s, he tried to shoot and kill a judge but his aim was off and he killed a bystander instead. This might have been the end of the road for some people, but not for Magee, who turned his genius instead to the creation of a new-fangled thing called a parking meter. A way to regulate time was needed because most of the parking spaces in downtown OKC in 1935 were occupied by employees, leaving no place for potential customers.
Now, for the first and potentially last time, we have a limited number of meter heads, a few meter housings with no internal meter ‘guts’ and just guts (aka: innards). Meters come in various styles in various degrees of funkiness- selection will be first come, first choice, no pushing, please.
You may be asking yourself why anyone would want a meter. We would be happy to answer yourself. Meters are versatile! You can make art with meters. You can put a meter in your office, man- or woman-cave and look at it. Put it on a base and ticket anyone who sits in your favorite chair in front of the TV! Your Park-O-Meter will be a loyal companion. It will not wander off, dig holes in the yard or bite the letter carrier.
The fine print. These meters come with no warranty, they are as-is, where-is. There will be no returns or refunds because that is a hassle and we don’t feel like doing it. Do not use these meters while driving. Care should be exercised around live wires. Do not attempt to put a parking meter in your mouth.
Pictures of the meters are available on the DDA’s Facebook page at Shreveport DDA.
