The Phone Booth
Contents The birth The decline The 21st Century
The Birth
Born in the early 1900s, shortly after the telephone gained popularity as a form of communication, the telephone booth first appeared in London near the Grand Central Railway, in the form of a large red container. These jaunty boxes provided the convenience of instant communication while travelling, and the booths were large enough to accommodate an average-sized person. They provided protection from the elements, a certain amount of privacy by closing the door, and electric lighting for night-time calls. They served the needs of the masses, providing telecommunications to anyone, regardless of whether or not an individual actually owned a phone himself. One could even use a phone booth to make a collect call if he had no change in his pockets with which to pay for his conversation.
The Decline
With the passage of the Disabilities Act, the 1970s saw the removal of phone booths throughout the United States in order to accommodate callers who were wheelchair-bound. By the 1990s, the gaining popularity of cell phones rendered public phones obsolete. While some public phones still exist, their numbers are dwindling rapidly. Those that remain are often in a state of disrepair. The major phone companies that own and maintain the public phones find more profit in concentrating on the wireless communication market than in repairing antiquated technology. While phone booths once graced virtually every street corner, public office building and hotel, and were indeed part of the fabric of the culture, it is now a feat akin to finding buried treasure to find an operable phone booth.
60% of Britain’s phone booths lose money
T h e 2 1st Century
The 21st century phone booth is a statement on the demise of what had once been an iconic presence in art, entertainment and society. Superman used phone booths to change from being Clark Kent. The Beatles were famously filmed talking to one another in adjoining phone booths in the title sequence of “A Hard Day’s Night.” Alfred Hitchcock’s tale of horror, “The Birds”, would not be complete without its heroine running into a phone booth to escape her avian attackers. And of course, perhaps most famously in popular culture Dr. Who used phone booths for time travel.
the number o calls has decr 80% in the la
f phone booth eased by st 5 years
According to The Calgary Herald, the number of phone booth calls has decreased 80% in the last 5 years. There are actually more mobile phones than people in the UK. And while many phone booths have been outfitted with Wi-Fi, defibrillators, and cash point machines; they’re simply not necessary for everyday life… unless you’re a tourist in need of a ridiculous photo.
In a case such as this, it’s easy to get carried away with sentimentality. But just about everything becomes obsolete at some point – remember imaginary games that didn’t involve a computer? I suppose my point here is that it’s easy to get swept away in the rush of technology, new inventions, and so rarely stop to look back. Or, stop at all. So, if you’re fortunate enough to have a little, red phone booth handy, step inside and pause… and remember what moments of stillness were like. Those might become obsolete someday, too, you know.