Skip to main content

Tipperary Hill Traffic Signal

Image
By
In a quiet neighborhood of Syracuse, New York, Tipperary Hill is home of the famous upside down traffic light. The traffic light is a tribute to the strong Irish heritage in the Syracuse area, but there is a deeper story behind why the green light is on top and the red light is on the bottom of the traffic signal. The first traffic light at the corner of Milton Avenue and Tompkins Street was supposedly put up in 1925 with a green light on top as a salute to the Irish, as requested by a city alderman (1). Eventually, the City of Syracuse decided to put the red light on top of the traffic signal, which gave some locals fits. The local children saw this as a blow to their Irish heritage, as red on top equaled supporting the British in their minds. They took matters into their own hands, throwing stones at the red light whenever the city put up a red light on top. After a while, the city relented and allowed the green light to return to the traffic light.


Even with all the stories of youth throwing stones at the red light, there is no official documents indicating exactly when the light went up. The first mention of the traffic light in was in the 1940s, when a New York City mayor visited Syracuse and greeted two sets of triplets under the upside down traffic light (2). Today, Syracuse celebrates this part of their history, with a small monument at the northeast corner of the intersection dedicated to stone throwers who honored their Irish heritage by resisting a traffic signal with a red light on top.

I've also visited the upside down traffic light at Tipperary Hill a number of times.
Stone Throwers' Memorial, which is at the intersection of the upside down traffic light.







Coleman's Irish Pub is a long operating restaurant in the Tipperary Hill neighborhood of Syracuse, just down the street from the intersection.

When I visited, there were warning signs that tell you that the green light is on top.
Sources:
(1) Syracuse Post-Standard - In Syracuse, an Irish lesson for the prime minister: Rocks against red lift green on Tipp Hill - http://www.syracuse.com/kirst/index.ssf/2005/03/rocks_against_red_lift_green_o.html
(2) Gizmodo - The Story Behind Syracuse's Upside-Down Traffic Light - 
http://gizmodo.com/the-story-behind-syracuses-upside-down-traffic-light-1545301615
Labels:
Location: Stone Thrower's Park, Milton Ave, Syracuse, NY 13204, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New River Gorge National Park & Preserve - Thurmond

By
New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is best known for whitewater rafting and other forms of adventure tourism.  Yet, found in the hollows and isolated valleys are quiet farms and former coal mining towns.  Well off the beaten path and isolated from much of its surroundings, Thurmond provides a unique view into Central West Virginia's industrial past. Thurmond began as a railroad town in the late 1800s.  Sparked by the arrival of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad and the local coal industry, Thurmond quickly grew into a sizeable transportation and coal center.  When it incorporated as a town in 1903, Thurmond was a full-fledged community - home to two banks, two hotels, and many other services and stores. A CSX freight train passes the old coaling tower in Thurmond.  It was here that many steam locomotives would refill and refuel. Thurmond was home to a C&O railyard which serviced the numerous steam engines passing through the narrow valley.  Thu...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Tale of Tollhouse Road, western California State Route 168 and failed Piute Pass Highway

By
Western California State Route 168 is entirely located in Fresno County and is linked historically to the Tollhouse Road corridor.   Tollhouse Road is one of the oldest highways in the Sierra Nevada range of Fresno County. The corridor presently begins in at Clovis Avenue in downtown Clovis and extends northeast to Huntington Lake. In 1866 the Woods Brothers established mining claims on Pine Ridge. In 1867 Fresno County would grant the brothers a toll franchise to construct a roadway to the desirable logging areas atop Pine Ridge and near Dinkey Creek. The Woods would establish a tollhouse at the start of their franchise road and lumber mill. The lumber mill attracted settlers which led to the establishment of the mountain town of Tollhouse. Fresno County would purchase the Tollhouse Road in 1878 and make it a public highway. The county would remove the tolls and incorporate the corridor into the existing county road network. Prior to the establishment of Clovis in 1...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old Dunlap Road (former California State Route 180 in Yokuts Valley)

By
When California State Route 180 was commissioned in August 1934 the alignment in took in Sierra Nevada range was very different than from today.  The original highway alignment from Squaw Valley (now Yokuts Valley) to east Grant Grove (then part of General Grant National Park) originally followed what is now Ruth Hill Road, Dunlap Road, Pinehurst Road (modern California State Route 245), Dark Canyon Road (partially now Forest Road 14S45).  After funding fell through for the planned Kings Canyon Road the was corridor eventually picked up as a 30-mile-long cooperative project between the Division of Highways and Federal Government.  Much of current alignment of California State Route 180 bypassing Squaw Valley (now Yokuts Valley) and Dunlap was complete by 1941.  The post-1941 alignment of California State Route 180 in Squaw Valley was shifted onto what was once Dunlap Road in Squaw Valley.  This alignment itself was later bypassed by modern California State Route...
Post a Comment
Read more