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Phone booths [telecom]

Folks,

Tonight on the Philly news there was a story from Bethlehem, PA about a police booth installed at an intersection near a local hospital to allow control of an intersection traffic light. The hospital pays the OT for the cops to operate the light during high traffic hours to speed things along.

What caught my eye was the booth. It was a telephone booth, albeit not the nice walnut variety, but an outdoor aluminum and glass one. I even saw the corner mounting pad for a payphone, fully equipped with holes for the mounting screws and wiring.

Now I think it is nice that the city went extra lengths to protect the police officiers from the inclement weather, but my real question is where do you get a phone booth these days and how much does it cost??

ET

Reply to
Eric Tappert
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I see a nice one on eBay for $200 minimum bid, $400 buy it now, you pick it up in Minnesota.

Speaking of protecting officers from inclement weather, I hope everyone is familiar with the world's smallest police station in Cararabelle FL:

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It's real, I've been there and seen it.

Regards, John Levine, snipped-for-privacy@iecc.com, Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies", Please consider the environment before reading this e-mail.

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Reply to
John Levine

Here and there there are still a few of the alumnium style outdoor phone booths still in service. Also, in a few buildings there are still the classic wooden kind, complete with the little seat and table, light, and vent fan.

Should you see any get your pictures now because property owners sooner or later question whether these phones are worth the carrying charges and they disappear.

As to acquiring one, I suspect the phone company has some in storage, along with lots of pay phone sets.

There is an electric company power substation near me and it has an old phone booth in it. The red panels where it said "TELEPHONE" were painted over but the paint is peeling revealing the inscription.

P.S. I previously reported the Pa Tpk had some phone booths near Interchanges. I went up to take a closer look and the booths were empty. The Verizon sign was painted out to solid blank and the phones were removed. Also, while the booths were intended to serve motorists, I found it very hazardous driving over and parking to get close to them. I suspect they date from a time when there was less traffic through the interchanges.

Reply to
Lisa or Jeff

I actually know an individual (former Bell tech, naturally) that owns a phone booth, the nice wooden variety, and it's displayed right in his living room. There is a phone in it and it's hooked up to his land line. I don't know if it gets much (if any) use though. Not sure about the origins of the booth either, should ask when I see him again. But if you're looking for an older, wooden one, you can come across one in an antique store every so often. I've seen them. I think it's safe to assume that most (all?) more recent aluminum ones will eventually be sold for metal scrap.

+--------------------------------------------------------------+ Best Regards, Dmitri Abaimov, RCDD
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