The Adorno traffic light () is a traffic light artefact in Frankfurt, which has become one of the city's landmarks. The traffic light is located on Senckenberganlage, a street which divides the Institute for Social Research from Goethe University Frankfurt. Local intellectual figure Theodor W. Adorno requested its construction after a pedestrian death in 1962, and it was finally installed posthumously 25 years later.
History
In 1951 the Institute for Social Research moved into a new building on Senckenberganlage.
On March 12, 1958, Adorno wrote a letter to the University outlining dangers of crossing the street, which led to police chief Gerhard Littmann marking a pedestrian crossing.
On November 29, 1961, Adorno demanded "a bridge for pedestrians over the Senckenberganlage or a diversion of all traffic".
In 1962 a person was killed in a traffic accident in the Senckenberganlage area, which led to Adorno writing to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung demanding "traffic lights in the whole university area":
Adorno's demand was fulfilled 18 years after his death. In 1985 Jürgen Habermas (director of the institute) campaigned for the traffic lights. In 1987, Habermas' successor, Ludwig von Friedeburg, placed a pedestrian traffic light at the Senckenberg plant, which was named the "Adorno traffic light" after its proponent.University Archive Frankfurt, 630-50, sheet 66. Quoted in Michael Maaser : A bridge over the Senckenberganlage. Adorno and the University of Frankfurt . In: Research Frankfurt . No. 3-4 / 2003, ISSN 0175-0992, p. 50 ( uni-frankfurt.de PDF; 1.4 MB)THEODOR W. ADORNO (7 STATIONEN GEFUNDEN)Eine zärtliche Liebeserklärung
The Adorno traffic light has developed into a tourist attraction in Frankfurt.https://www.rezensionen.ch/frank-berger-christian-setzepfandt-101-unorte-in-frankfurt/3797312482/ 101 Unorte in Frankfurt
Literature
Michael Maaser : A bridge over the Senckenberganlage. Adorno and the University of Frankfurt . In: Research Frankfurt . No. 3-4 / 2003, ISSN 0175-0992, p. 48–51 ( uni-frankfurt.de [PDF; 1.4 MB; accessed on February 21, 2019]). Wolfram Schütte (Ed.): Adorno in Frankfurt. A kaleidoscope with texts and pictures . 1st edition. Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am Main 2003, , pp. 236–240: The Adorno traffic light; P. 241: Frankfurter Rundschau, June 6, 1987: […] traffic light as Adorno memorial . Richard Deiss: Adorno traffic light and suspension railway elephant. 222 little traffic anecdotes on everything that moves us . BoD, Norderstedt 2010, . Frank Berger, Christian Setzepfandt : 101 non-locations in Frankfurt . New edition. Societäts-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2011, . Stuart Walton: Neglected or Misunderstood. Introducing Theodor Adorno . Zero Books, Winchester (United Kingdom) 2017, , pp. 31–32 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search).
References