A ‘Pigeon Hole’ steel-framed parking lot, stacked full of automobiles in downtown Portland, Oregon, USA It was located at the northern end of SW Park Avenue. The parking system was invented by brothers Vaughn and Leo Sanders. They founded Pigeon Hole Parking in 1947. They patented a hydraulic lift or elevator that would lift a car, slide it down a row and poke it into a space in the frame. The first was in Spokane, Washington in 1950. Others followed but when machinery broke down, cars were trapped for days. Pigeon Hole went out of business around 1971 – a vintage 1950s/60s photograph.
A ‘Pigeon Hole’ steel-framed parking lot, stacked full of automobiles in downtown Portland, Oregon, USA It was located at the northern end of SW Park Avenue (here running left to right in the foreground with the Modish Building far right). The parking system was invented by brothers Vaughn and Leo Sanders were loggers, who were silver miners and owned a lumber mill. They came up with the idea of robotic parking valet and founded Pigeon Hole Parking in 1947. They patented a machine – a hydraulic lift similar to an elevator – that would lift a car, slide it down the row and poke it into a space in the frame. There were already parking garages and car stacking elevator systems, but the Sanders’ system didn’t require a building, just a frame – where just one or two people could run the entire operation. The first operating system went in at N Madison Street, Spokane, Washington in 1950. The brothers began building others in Los Angeles, Phoenix, New York and Chicago. The business slowed after several years, with finance issues and machinery breaking down, often trapping cars for days at a time while repairs were made. Pigeon Hole went out of business around 1971. This image is from an old amateur colour transparency. It will look soft if used at too large a size – a vintage 1950s/60s photograph.
Size: 3543px × 2378px
Location: SW Park Avenue, Portland, Oregon, USA
Photo credit: © M&N / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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