It was an ordinary day. Reading about a traffic tower that at one time sat in the center square of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I have been passing through the square for over three-quarters of a century and I never knew there was a traffic tower in the square. It was only a few weeks ago that I happened to be searching for something else when I came across a photograph of the tower. The earliest reference I could find about a tower was in the Thursday, July 14, 1927 copy of the Intelligencer Journal. The story titled "Propose To Erect Traffic Tower" told of the $3,500 that had been set aside to remedy the congested traffic situation in the city. Police Chief Guy H. Eckman said the tower would be placed in the northeast corner of the Penn Square monument, but details hadn't been worked out as of that date. Wasn't until Monday, December 30, 1929 that I was able to find any more news about the tower. In the Lancaster New Era that day was a story that said Police Chief Eckman announced that he hoped to put the traffic tower into operation by the coming Saturday. The control tower is mounted on 10-foot steel suppports, high enough to allow clear vision of every traffic intersection in the square, above the level of the roofs of trolley cars. The chamber at the top in which the traffic director will be stationed is of copper, octagonally shaped, enclosed in plate glass. The signal lights are the traditional red top, yellow center and green bottom.
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| Traffic Tower in Lancaster. |
Pedestrians will be given the right of way throughout the square. A bell will signal when it is safe for pedestrians to cross. There were two sets of lights at each intersection with an extra set at the north corner of East King Street for north and west bound traffic. The traffic lights can be operated independently of each other to relieve the flow of traffic at any one intersection. The officer stationed in the tower would have full control of all the lights. The traffic lights were hooked up in six different series with each set able to be operated independently of the others to relieve the flow of traffic. Can you imagine having to operate all those switches! The lights were finally put into operation on Sunday, January 5, 1930. Police Chief Eckman asked motorists and pedestrians to watch the light facing them and move only when it was green. They were to exercise special care until they have become accustomed to the lights. Directions were given in the newspaper which went like this: Three lights are situated on the pole in front of Jacob's Shirt Shop. One facing east governs traffic entering the square from East King Street, one pointed at an angle towards South Queen street governs traffic in the north bound land in the southeast corner of the square, and the third is for pedestrians desiring to use the lane of traffic from the corner to the monument. The light that controls northbound traffic in the northeast angle of the square is situated on a pole on North Queen Street in front of the Fulton Bank. The light for the westbound traffic in the same angle of the square is affixed to a pole in front of the Griest building and faces at an angle toward East King Street. The light on West King Street, at the City Hall, controls westbound vehicles leaving the square. Lights for pedestrians are affixed to poles and face the lanes of traffic which have been painted on the street. And, this was to replace what they had before that was much harder to understand? The following day it was reported in the newspaper that Police are more than satisfied with the operation of the lights and reported little congestion of traffic. Wow!! A story in the Lancaster New Era on Friday, January 17, 1930 told of one of their reporters climbing the tower to sit in the tower and watch the patrolman on duty operate all the lights. Traffic policeman Lew Piersol was in command on the tower while policeman "Ducky" Rohrer was on patrol below the tower. Officer Piersol was pulling switches, releasing controls and looking in all directions when the bell on the Courthouse tolled at 3:00 PM. One switch in the center stopped all traffic when pushed to allow for pedestrian movement. A bell was to be installed soon so pedestrians will know when to go. And...if that wasn't enough confusion, the trolly cars had to have a turn in the traffic lanes. As of this time there were two shifts with one set of officers, one in the tower and one on the ground. One shift worked 8 AM to 4 PM, alternating the men from the tower to the ground every 2 hours, and the other from 4 PM until midnight. Traffic was allowed to flow as it always had after midnight until 8 AM. The Police Department declared the tower a hugh success. Then along came October and the bells that rang for the pedestrians couldn't be heard by motorists with their windows up due to the cold weather. So, they decided to try numerous bells. Seemed to work, but when street repairs had to be made, that created an all new set of problems. Everyone did notice that with the start of the traffic light tower, very few horse and buggies used center square to pass through the city. Perhaps the bells and lights scared the horses. Another problem with the tower was when Officer Piersol leaned out of the tower too far, his false teeth fell out. The final price of the Traffic Tower was $2,750.00 as reported in 1933. In the January 1, 1935 Lancaster New Era "People's Forum," it was proposed that the trolley be routed another direction, no parking allowed in the square and they get rid of the unsightly traffic tower. Someone else said that the Soldier's and Sailor's monument in the center of the square was the problem and said it should be removed. Another resident said, "That monument must stand in Center Square until time has made it a pile of dust." But, the traffic tower was still there on January 25, 1940 when the Lancaster New Era reported that Mr. Fred Moser saved an older man who happened to step off the curb directly in the path of an eastbound car. Moser pulled the older man to safety and on-duty Officer Gilmartin called Moser a hero. On April 8, 1943, the Intelligencer Journal reported that the traffic control tower in Penn Square was "TO BE REMOVED FROM THE SQUARE." The Tower in Penn Square was to be razed as soon as city employees could complete tying in the traffic lights with those in operation elsewhere in the city. A small control box would still remain on site in case the police needed to work the lights manually. Monday, May 31 and the New Era told Lancastrians that the "NEW SIGNAL SYSTEM IN SQUARE READY." Then in the Friday, June 11, 1943 Lancaster New Era, the headline read: "Tower Moved from Square After 14 Yrs."
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| Removing the traffic tower after 14 years. |
The tower was loaded onto a truck to be moved to the Lancaster American Legion Post No. 34 near Eden in Manheim Township. On Thursday, December 30, 1954, the Lancaster New Era reported: Remember the traffic box that was perched high on stilts in Penn Square? From that lofty position police operated the traffic signals around the square. It was just 25 years ago this week that the new fangled traffic tower was ready for operation. Among the retired policemen who once occupied the tower is Lew Piersol, who for a number of years, has served as ticket-taker at the Colonial Theatre. Finally, on Tuesday, May 1, 1962, the Lancaster New Era reported the death of Lewis B. Piersol, 79, retired city police officer, died today at 2:39 AM. He joined the Lancaster City Police force Jan. 2, 1922 and after 20 years service submitted his resignation Feb. 21, 1942. He gained the rank of Lieutenant. For many years he operated the traffic tower in Penn Square were he worked with the late police officer Ray "Ducky" Rohrer. His wife had died in 1922. He was survived by a daughter, four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren as well as a sister. The end of Lancaster's Traffic Tower and those who operated it had finally arrived! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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