parking ramp n Also ramp
1 An open paved area for parking cars. [Cf OED3 ramp n5 4 “orig. U.S. The level, paved area at an airport used for the loading, unloading, manoeuvring, etc., of aircraft; the apron” 1930→]
1937 Galveston Daily News (TX) 23 Apr 5/2, Request was granted Frank Hadcock for the Piggly Wiggly Co. to arrange a six-foot parking ramp and ten-foot sidewalk on the southwest corner of 18th and J. 1942 Capital Times (Madison WI) 21 Aug [6]/5 (newspaperarchive.com), A car driven by Walter Fontaine . . was involved in a minor collision with one driven by Don Larson when the former backed out of a parking ramp on W. Conant st. 1947 Oakland Tribune (CA) 20 Sept 12/3, [Advt:] Light Industrial Lot 35×115; concrete block building; 66×32 with 80-foot concrete parking ramp. 1949 Eve. Independent (Massillon OH) 4 June 10/5, The Rubber City Kennel club will hold its ninth annual dog show Sunday on the parking ramp of O’Neil’s store at Akron. 1955 Kenosha Eve. News (WI) 5 Oct [13]/1 (newspaperarchive.com), [Caption:] The above photo shows a “ready to roll” modern-day truck parked on the ramp in front of the new No. 5 fire station.
2 A multi-story parking stucture. [Prob abbr for (parking) ramp garage, used from c1918 to distinguish parking structures in which cars were moved from floor to floor with ramps from those, common at the time, that used elevators] chiefly IA, MN, WI
1933 Natl. Grocers Bulletin 20.4.30, One food establishment has built a parking ramp into the upper stories of the building, providing men to drive the cars up the ramps and to bring them down when the customers call for them. 1949 Winona Republican & Herald (MN) 7 Nov 3/2, One proposal under consideration is the construction of a 500-600 car multideck parking ramp. 1960 Daily Telegram (Eau Claire WI) 18 Jan 3/3, A car reported stolen from the top level of the municipal parking ramp . . was recovered 18 minutes later. . . Keith Jorgenson . . . said he parked it in the ramp about 4 p.m. 1976 Independent–Rec. (Helena MT) 1 Dec 1/3, Helena’s new parking ramp . . opened this morning. . . Tall vehicles, including most campers, cannot be parked in the ramp. 1977 Derrick (Oil City PA) 17 Feb 1/1, The elevators in the new parking ramp in downtown Oil City should be ready for use by March 15. . . In another report, the authority was told that 19,787 cars were parked in the ramp between November 25 and January 31. 1981 Daily Jrl. (Fergus Falls MN) 6 Oct 1/5, Plans to replace the condemned Barkley Hotel annex with a parking ramp moved one step forward at the Fergus Falls City Council session Monday evening. 1997 Gazette (Cedar Rapids IA) 25 Dec sec B 3/5, The items were found in the elevator area on the top floor of the ramp at Third Avenue and First Street SE. 2003 WI State Jrl. (Madison) 15 June sec D 5/4, The only place in the ramp a car is safe from this sort of bombardment is where birds can’t roost: the top floor. 2013–14 DARE Online Surv. WI Engl. (Qu. N7c, What do you call a large area or structure where you can park your car for a few hours?) 23 Infs, Parking ramp; 2 Infs, csWI, Ramp. [25 of 34 eligible Infs who responded to this question, from 9 of 13 represented target communities; See Suppl Maps] 2015 DARE File—Internet MN, Mayo Clinic Hospital, Saint Marys Campus, has an underground parking ramp for patients and visitors. Ibid IA, Parking structures are “parking ramps” in my native and current home, Iowa, as well [as in MN].