Lester Wire developed the first electric traffic light in 1912 in which U.S. city?

Lester Wire developed the first electric traffic light in 1912 in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was a Salt Lake City police officer trying to protect traffic officers from standing in dangerous intersections.

Wire’s original device was a manually operated wooden box mounted on a pole and connected to the city’s electrical supply. It displayed red and green lights on all four sides and was installed at Main Street and 200 South in downtown Salt Lake City. Because its shape resembled a birdhouse, people gave it nicknames such as “Wire’s bird cage.”

Wire’s invention did not immediately become a nationwide standard. Public reaction was mixed, and he never patented the design. Other inventors soon developed related systems: Cleveland’s American Traffic Signal Company installed an electric signal in 1914, and Detroit’s William Potts added the amber phase and coordinated four-way operation in 1920.

The key distinction is between “first electric” and “first three-color” signal. Wire’s 1912 model used red and green; the familiar amber caution light came later.