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"Parking Garages: A Multilevel History" [audio 5 min 48 sec]

Henry Ford was the father of automobile assembly lines. President Eisenhower was the father of the interstate highway system. But the paternity of the parking garage is less clear. Like most inventions, its mother, of course, was necessity.

An exhibit at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., traces the history of these ever-present structures that dot the American landscape.

While the exhibit doesn't pinpoint the actual birth of the first parking garage, it does offer some facts about its early years and some of the design challenges associated with storing cars.
Read entire article at NPR All Things Considered