America's Only Upside Down Traffic Light Has A Fascinating History

Traffic lights are not as straightforward as you may think. For instance, Japan has blue traffic lights, and while it's common to see the lights arranged vertically, some U.S. states mount them horizontally. (These, however, still sound better than a country having no traffic lights at all.) 

A standard-issue vertical traffic light follows the usual layout of red at the top and green at the bottom, with yellow sandwiched between the two. However, there is one place in the country (and it's the only place, apparently) where the traffic-light setup is the exact opposite: red at the bottom and green at the top. Syracuse, New York — specifically the Tipperary Hill neighborhood on the city's west side, named after Ireland's County Tipperary — is where you'd find this rather weird anomaly. The signal can be seen hanging above the intersection of Tompkins Street and Milton Avenue. 

The Irish influence is obvious in the area, with several pubs incorporating the three-leaved clover into their logos and an annual St. Patrick's Day Green Beer Sunday and Shamrock four-mile run. And the sentiment was no different during the 1900s. So when the city installed a red-over-green traffic light back in the 1920s, it didn't sit well with the residents, who claimed that it symbolized British superiority. The red light was interpreted as England's flag, which, the locals said, in no way should sit above Ireland's.

It's not like the city acknowledged this and immediately swapped lights. Because city officials wouldn't play ball, a group of local boys took matters into their own hands. No, they didn't replace it themselves. Instead, they resorted to throwing rocks, not at the officials, but at the lights. Of course, the city replaced the lights, but the pelting continued, and the neighborhood woke up to broken lights again and again.

Things weren't discreet, shall we say, as residents, in a meeting with the officials, said the lights would continue to be vandalized as long as it was red-over-green. When they kept smashing them countless times with what the locals called "Irish Confetti," the city had no choice but to give in, finally inverting the traffic light to green at the top and red at the bottom — a setup that is, surprisingly, still in use. 

As you can tell, it was only after this long display of stubbornness that the traffic light became the odd attraction that it is today. The move proved so iconic that Tipperary Hill installed a statue of an Irish family as a dedicated memorial near the intersection. It honors the pride and resilience of the Irish immigrants who stood up to the city and state, paying tribute to the original stone throwers — Jocko Behan, Richie Britt, James Coffey, Patrick Corbett, Kenny Davis, George Dorsey, Mikis Murphy, Stubbs Shortt, and Eugene Thompson.