Stating in 1935, controversy raged in Seattle over whether people should have to pay to park on downtown streets. The first parking meters went into operation on February 5, 1942. The fee was five cents per hour.

Here, Seattle Police Department Parking Enforcement division employees Ed Lorentzen and Einar Larson make the first collection from the 77 new meters. They replaced each coin-filled cartridge with an empty one. One slug and 11 pennies were found when the money was counted. The first day's total was $36.31.

Caption information derived from captions written by Post-Intelligencer staff and attached to the back of the photograph.
Caption information source: The Seattle Times, February 8, 1942.