The "Green-on-Top" or "Red-on-Bottom" Traffic Light

Tipperary Hill, sometimes known as Tipp Hill, is an area in the city of Syracuse, New York largely settled by immigrants from Ireland, a number it is assumed, from County Tipperary. The Green-on-Top or Red-on-Bottom Traffic Light. ... The Green-on-Top or Red-on-Bottom Traffic Light. ... Clinton Square in Downtown Syracuse Syracuse is an American city in Central New York. ... County Tipperary (Tiobraid Árann in Irish) is a traditional county in the Republic of Ireland, in the province of Munster. ...

In the 1820s, when the Erie Canal first was built from Albany, New York to Buffalo, New York, the Irish were the chief laborers. Syracuse is about the middle of the route, the "hub" of the system. When the canal was finished many of the Irish settled west of Syracuse on a hill overlooking the canal. This area became known as Tipperary Hill. Events and Trends Nationalistic independence movements helped reshape the world during this decade: Greece declares independence from the Ottoman Empire (1821). ... The white section highlights the general area of the canal, with the actual canal shown in blue The Erie Canal (later replaced by the Barge Canal, and subsequently renamed to the Erie Canal) is a canal in New York State, United States, that runs from the Hudson River to Lake... New York State Capitol Building, completed in 1899 at a cost of $25 million was the most expensive government building of its time. ... Aerial view of downtown Buffalo, New York Buffalo, also known as The Queen City, The Nickel City, and the City of Good Neighbors, is an American city in western New York. ...

When the city first started to install traffic signal lights in the 1920s they put one at a major intersection on Tipperary Hill, on the corner of Tompkins Street and Milton Avenue. Some Irish youths, incensed that anyone would dare to put the "British" red above the "Irish" green, broke the light. The city replaced it but the Irish broke the replacement. After a few rounds of this the city decided that if they wanted a light at that intersection, they had better put signal up inverted, so they did. Traffic lights will sometimes differ where there are several lanes of traffic. ... Sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or primarily in North America as the Roaring Twenties. // Events and trends Technology John T. Thompson invents Thompson submachine gun, also known as Tommy gun John Logie Baird invents the first working television system (1925) Charles Lindbergh becomes the first person to fly...

In recent years some long time neighborhood residents of Irish ancestry and a local business owner (Coleman's) gathered resources and encouraged the city first to demolish a old run-down commercial building and then to build a small park, the Tipperary Hill Memorial Park, and erect a statue, the Tipperary Hill Heritage Memorial. The memorial is dedicated to those who, in their opinions, were brave sons of Ireland who had stood up to City Hall and won. The statue was created by Dexter Benedict. The park and statue are still there, as is the light. On the eve of every Saint Patrick's Day, someone goes out and paints the yellow strip in the center of the road green in time for the Saint Patrick's Day parade. Categories: Stub ... St. ...

Although most people in Syracuse know about the Tipp Hill neighborhood there is little agreement as to the exact boundries of the neighborhood. Before 1886, the entire far west side of what is now Syracuse from Burnet Park north to Milton Avenue in Solvay was known as the Village of Geddes. When the village of Geddes joined the city, there were only two churches in the neighborhood: St. Patrick's Church and The Geddes Methodist Church. Many Irish immigrants were attracted to the neighborhood nearest to St. Patrick's Church and area factories. 1886 is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) // Events January 9 - The United States of America is 40,000 days old. ...

On March 15, 2005, Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern visited Tipperary Hill, where he had his photo taken by the Green-on-Top traffic light, and ate at Coleman's Irish Pub. His comment on the traffic light: March 15 is the 74th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (75th in Leap years). ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ... A prime minister may be either: the chief or leading member of the cabinet of the top-level government in a country having a parliamentary system of government; or the official, in countries with a semi-presidential system of government, appointed to manage the civil service and execute the directives... Patrick Bartholemew Ahern (Irish name: Pádraig Parthalán Ó hEachthairn) (born September 12, 1951), commonly called Bertie Ahern, is an Irish politician. ...

"What they were up to in those days were kept for the future. I'm not sure I know how legal it was...but anyway...ha ha ha."

External links

• Top 'o the Hill
• Living on Tipperary Hill (PDF article in a city publication)

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