Ohio inventions and firsts · First · 1914
Electric traffic signal at Euclid Ave. and E. 105th
In August 1914 the American Traffic Signal Company installed an electric traffic signal, designed by James Hoge, at Euclid Avenue and East 105th Street in Cleveland. Hoge's patent (US 1,251,666, 1918) covers a municipal traffic control system with interlocked signals and fire/police circuits.
At a glance
- Year
- 1914
- Company
- American Traffic Signal Company
- Place
- Cleveland, Cuyahoga County ZIP 44106 · Cleveland · Cuyahoga County
- Patent
- US 1,251,666 US 1,251,666 (Hoge, 'Municipal traffic control system', filed 1913, granted Jan 1 1918)
The story
In 1914 city streets still mixed horses, streetcars, bicycles and a growing number of cars, and a police officer standing in the road could not be everywhere. Cleveland wanted a signal that could work without someone turning it by hand.
In August 1914 the American Traffic Signal Company put an electric signal at the corner of Euclid Avenue and East 105th Street. The light was designed by James Hoge. It used four pairs of red and green lights on a corner post, wired to a manual switch in a control booth in a way that prevented conflicting signals. Hoge received U.S. patent 1,251,666 in 1918 for a municipal traffic control system with interlocked signals connected to fire and police circuits.
Cleveland was not the only claimant. Wikipedia says an electric traffic light was first developed in 1912 by Lester Wire, a policeman in Salt Lake City, Utah. The sources therefore agree that Cleveland's was among the first electric signals installed on a public street, but not that it was the first electric signal ever made.
Three-color lights came six years later, when William Potts built a four-way, three-color light in Detroit in 1920 that added the amber caution light we still see. By 1922 automatic timers were starting to replace officers in signal towers. In New York this meant 5,500 of 6,000 traffic officers could be reassigned, saving the city $12.5 million.
Timeline
- 1912: Lester Wire of Salt Lake City develops an electric traffic light. (Salt Lake City, UT) source
- 1914-08: The American Traffic Signal Company installs the electric signal, designed by James Hoge, at Euclid Avenue and East 105th Street. (Cleveland, OH) source
- 1918: James Hoge is granted U.S. patent 1,251,666 for a municipal traffic control system. (Washington, D.C.) source
- 1920: William Potts builds the first four-way, three-color light in Detroit. (Detroit, MI) source
- 1922: Automatic timers begin replacing officers in signal towers. (United States) source
What it changed
- In New York, automatic timers let the city reassign all but 500 of its 6,000 traffic officers, saving $12.5 million.
Why it matters
Widely cited as the first electric traffic signal in the U.S.
Who gets the credit is disputed
The Ohio claim. An electric traffic signal went up at Euclid Avenue and East 105th Street in Cleveland in August 1914, and James Hoge's patent covers interlocked signals tied to fire and police circuits. It is widely cited as the first in the U.S.
The other claims. Salt Lake City's 1912 signal, built by Lester Wire, is the competing claim for the first electric traffic light.
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. High: the main facts were confirmed in sources we opened.