Germatown Parking Company

Accession 507
Records, 1946-1981, 1 Linear Foot

BACKGROUND

The Germantown Parking Company, hereafter "the Company," was established by the Business Men's Association of Germantown for the purpose of acquiring and operating community parking lots in the Germantown business section. Originally a subsidiary of the Business Men's Association, the Company was eventually incorporated as a nonprofit community project with the Association as its sole stockholder.

Under the leadership of Benjamin Wilf, the Company was incorporated in 1948, becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of the Association by 1952. It was initially funded by the community businesses that comprised its membership, and was administered by a board of directors elected by Company shareholders. The directors appointed four persons to the offices of president, vice president, secretary and treasurer.

Initially, the Company secured parking lots through leasing. The first of these, located at 35 W Schoolhouse Lane, began operations in 1951. Donald J. Tobin became president of the Company in 1954, but by 1955 the nature of the Company was beginning to change. Company directors began considering options such as buying (rather than leasing) lots and shifting ownership to bondholders (rather than the Businessmen's Association). Ultimately, the Company was unable to maintain successful operation of their lots: day-to-day operations were terminated in 1957, and the Germantown Parking Company account was eventually settled in 1974. This effectively ended the initial run of the Company.

Following the demise of the original Germantown Parking Company, a second group of Association members led by Roger Scattergood restarted the organization in 1980. Using leftover contributions from a Colonial Germantown Parking Study Fund, the Company leased several lots in the Germantown area. This incarnation of the Company was short-lived, however, as a lack of success forced the Company to terminate its last parking lease in March of 1981.

The work of the Germantown Parking Company often paralleled that of the Traffic Parking Committee of the Business Men's Association of Germantown, but the two entities were in fact separate, with slightly different emphases. The Traffic Parking Committee dealt with general problems of parking and traffic, and held no regular meetings. The Germantown Parking Company, on the other hand, dealt specifically with the operation of parking lots. Some materials from both of these administrative bodies are contained within the collection.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The collection consists of 1 linear foot and covers the period from 1946 to 1981. Most of the material is concentrated around the periods when the company was actually in existence: 1948-1957 and 1980-1981.

The collection is divided into four series. The bulk of the collection falls within the Administrative series, which includes correspondence and other materials relating to the formation, organization and administration of Company affairs. In addition to Germantown Parking Company materials, this series also includes some materials pertaining to the Traffic Parking Committee of the Business Men's Association of Germantown.

The materials contained within the Financial series pertain mostly to the second incarnation of the Company (1980-81).; These include various reports (Auditors, Banks, Investments, etc) pertaining to Company finances.

The Projects series collects surveys and other data pertaining to traffic and parking in the Germantown area.; This includes coverage of a monthly parking project and a general parking plan.

Finally, the Miscellaneous series includes two folders of tangential materials pertaining to Business Men's Association of Germantown events (Christmas Parade and Dinner Dance).

ORGANIZATION

I. Administration
II. Financial
III. Projects
IV. Miscellaneous

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Series I. Administration.

This series begins with general administrative information, consisting mostly of correspondence and organized by date. This chronological section is followed by several sub series arranged alphabetically. The bulk of this material pertains to committees of the Business Men's Association of Germantown, and falls under three headings: Parking & Traffic Control, Parking & Traffic Committee, and Traffic & Parking Committee. Additional sub series of Administration include: Documentation (including articles of incorporation and early meeting minutes), License, Redevelopment Authority Lease, Parking Lot Manager Applications, Allentown Park & Shop Plan (a model for the Germantown Parking Company), and John Asher (documents collected by a Company director).

Series II. Financial.

Includes several sub series of financial information, pertaining mostly to the later incarnation of the Company (1980-81) and organized alphabetically. These include Accounts, Auditor's Reports, Contracts, Daily Reports (from various Company Parking Lots), Escrow Fund (concerning the Colonial Germantown Parking Study Fund), Financial Estimates, and Girard Bank.

Series III. Projects.

This series contains information on some of the projects undertaken by the Germantown Parking Company and the Traffic & Parking Committee of the Business Men's Association of Germantown. Includes the following sub series: Monthly Parking, Parking Plan, Surveys (1946, 1956 & 1968), and Traffic Data.

Series IV. Miscellaneous.

Two folders of tangential materials: Dinner Dance (of the Business Association of Germantown) and Germantown Christmas Parade.

31952-1958 (1 of 3)

BOX LIST


SERIES I		ADMINISTRATION


	BOX	FOLDER	CONTENTS	YEARS
	1
		1	1947-1948	1947-1948
		2	1951	1951
		3	1952-1958
		4	1952-1958 (2 of 3)	1952-1958
		5	1952-1958 (3 of 3) - Includes some undated items	1952-1958
		6	1980-1981 (1 of 2)	1980-1981
		7	1980-1981 (2 of 2) -Includes some undated items & notes	1980-1981
		8	Allentown Park & Shop Plan	1949-1951
		9	Asher, John< (Parking & Traffic Committee Chairman)	1980-1981
		10	Documentation	1948-1955
		11	License	1980-1981
		12	Parking & Traffic Committee	1967-1972
		13	Parking & Traffic Control	1949-1952
		14	Parking & Traffic Control	1952-1953
		15	Parking & Traffic Control	1976-1980
		16	Parking & Traffic Control	1980-1981

	2
		1	Parking & Traffic Control (1 of 2) - includes some undated items	1979-1981
		2	Parking & Traffic Control (2 of 2) - Notes	1979-1981
		3	Parking Lot Manager Applications	1951
		4	Redevelopment Authority Lease	1980
		5	Traffic & Parking Committee	1956
		6	Traffic & Parking Committee	1956
		7	Traffic & Parking Committee	1957-1966


SERIES II		FINANCIAL


	BOX	FOLDER	CONTENTS	YEARS
	2
		8	Accounts (1 of 2)	1980-1981
		9	Accounts (2 of 2)	1980-1981
		10	Auditor's Reports (1 of 3)	1980-1981




SERIES II		FINANCIAL


	BOX	FOLDER	CONTENTS	YEARS
	2
		11	Auditor's Reports (2 of 3)	1980-1981
		12	Auditor's Reports (3 of 3)	1980-1981
		13	Contracts	1980-1981
		14	Daily Reports - Allen's Lot (1 of 2)	1980-1981
		15	Daily Reports - Allen's Lot (2 of 2)	1980-1981
		16	Daily Reports - Armat & Greene	1980-1981

	3
		1	Daily Reports - Germantown & Armat (1 of 3)	1980-1981
		2	Daily Reports - Germantown & Armat (2 of 3)	1980-1981
		3	Daily Reports - Germantown & Armat (3 of 3)	1980-1981
		4	Escrow Fund	1966-1978
		5	Escrow Fund (1 of 2)	1979-1980
		6	Escrow Fund (2 of 2)	1979-1980
		7	Financial Estimates	ND
		8	Girard Bank (1 of 2)	1980-1981
		9	Girard Bank (2 of 2)	1980-1981


SERIES III		PROJECTS


	BOX	FOLDER	CONTENTS	YEARS
	3
		10	Monthly Parking (1 of 2)	1980-1981
		11	Monthly Parking (2 of 2)	1980-1981
		12	Parking Plan	1981
		13	Survey	1946
		14	Survey	1956
		15	Survey	1968
		16	Traffic Data	1956-1966


SERIES IV		MISCELLANEOUS


	BOX	FOLDER	CONTENTS	YEARS
	3
		17	Dinner Dance	1977
		18	Germantown Christmas Parade	1979

Germantown Parking Company

Accession 507 Records, 1946-1981, 1 Linear Foot