Traffic Control Tower

Meriden, Connecticut

A hulking survivor of the early days of highway chaos, the Meriden Traffic Tower of was built in 1925 and controlled traffic at a busy downtown intersection for nearly 42 years. Resembling a prison guard tower, with a bewildering assortment of red, amber, and green lights embedded in its four sides, it was manned by an operator who climbed into it from a ladder. The Tower was considered so notable that it was featured on several post cards.

Meriden loved its Tower, even though it did eventually replaced it with a boring traffic light. Rather than throw the Tower away the city restored it and moved it to a a little park just down the street from its original site, a place "of dignity and prominence" according to its historical plaque. Some of its lights have been left on, but the Tower is so odd-looking that its cryptic signals are unlikely to confuse modern drivers.