This sketch by Battle Creek architect Leon Snyder of a gate house for a parking lot on Van Buren Street was part of the planning for two lots, the other on Jackson Street, that the Enquirer and News on Feb. 23, 1947, called an "experiment" to find an "answer to one of Battle Creek's greatest problems." The city completed two parking lots in 1948, according to a report in the March 15, 1949, Battle Creek Enquirer and News. "A charge of 15c per day with In-and-Out privileges was established to cover expenses and to liquidate, over a period of years, the original capital investment." The Van Burn Street lot brought in $12,210.97 — and accommodated 81,406 customers — in fiscal year 1948.