Telephone Booth
By PageTurner
@PageTurner (2825)
United States
June 26, 2012 2:36pm CST
The other day I was driving in the countryside and low and behold there appeared a telephone booth. I was surprised to see such this beast as I have not seen such a rare creature make its appearance in quite some time.
Do you still see telephone booths in your locale? What type are they -- fully enclosed, or just the stand up type with an enclosure around the head?
Does your area have places like telephone booths for owners of mobile telephones to use for privacy and quiet? Have you ever used one? What is the cost to use one of these?
Have you seen telephone booths in retirement? If so, how are they used? I have seen aluminum telephone booths at the scrapyard, and I have seen one converted into a fish aquarium. I used to have a British-style telephone booth that I converted into a place to store my stereo equipment.
I wonder if old telephone booths could find new life as porta-potties?
Peace
1 person likes this
10 responses
@thewonderboy (7501)
• India
29 Jun 12
Students are not allowed to take mobile phones in school. So such telephone facility provided by the school itself and it is only allowed to use when there in any important matter. Don't the school near you provide such facilities?
1 person likes this
@PageTurner (2825)
• United States
27 Jun 12
Yes, so it would seem, ryanong.
Do you ever even see a telephone booth around anywhere?
@suzzy3 (8342)
•
26 Jun 12
Yes that would be wonderful to have a red telepone for conveince in my garden ,would not give much privacy with the glass in it.You have made me laugh the very thought just creases me up.To get back to your original question we have a village phone booth it is aluminim as we did have a red one but some used it as a local loo,and it was vandelised so many times.I don't need to use it thank goodness but many people are doing away with landlines because of the expense.Our mobile reception is shocking where we live so I expect it will be used a lot more.The next village has still got a red box the locals guard.Most of the villages round here have a phone booth of some description.They are usually positioned by bus stops so it gives the vandels plenty of things to destroy it is such a shame.
@PageTurner (2825)
• United States
26 Jun 12
Yes, it is a shame that so many of these are destroyed, suzzy3. I have a funny image of the locals of the next village guarding the red box. The image in my head includes the villagers of the television show, Hamish MacBeth.
@PageTurner (2825)
• United States
26 Jun 12
I didn't even think about the credit card telephones! Great point!
@urbandekay (18278)
•
27 Jun 12
Nice ones like that in your picture where common-place here when I grew up, sadly now replaced by open booths or closed, ugly ones
all the best urban
1 person likes this
@urbandekay (18278)
•
27 Jun 12
Yes indeed they are but most are gone long time past, though I do know of one tucked away in a yard. Some became showers in peoples homes, a job for which they are remarkably unsuitable!
all the best urban
1 person likes this
@PageTurner (2825)
• United States
27 Jun 12
They would seem quite small for a shower enclosure. But I can see someone getting caught up in the moment in such an endeavor.
They are so much nicer than the metal booths so common in the USA.
@PageTurner (2825)
• United States
27 Jun 12
I wonder what happens to all of the old ones?
When I was in college, the father of a friend of mine owned most of the telephone booths in the city. He rented them to the telephone company and he was able to make a very lucrative living from it. I have often wondered what people like him have done to adjust to the changing times?
I wonder if your formerly nice telephone booths are shipped overseas to people like me. I used to have one like the one pictured, and I converted it so as to hold my stereo equipment.
Peace
@PageTurner (2825)
• United States
27 Jun 12
That was my reaction as I, too, was driving in the country and there was a booth in the middle of nowhere. I stopped to see if it was actually working (I had wondered if it may have been converted into a place for a child to wait for the bus out of the weather) and as surprised to see that it was actually working.
Peace
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
1 Jul 12
Now if we can turn those idle pieces of the past in to porta-potties...we would be in a much better place
I don't think that a quarter of them even work anymore. The last time I tried to use one...long story but anyway..it was 50 cents and it took my 50 cents and left me standing there with the urge to pee. It would have been much more valuable for me as the porta pottie at that point.
I don't think that a quarter of them even work anymore. The last time I tried to use one...long story but anyway..it was 50 cents and it took my 50 cents and left me standing there with the urge to pee. It would have been much more valuable for me as the porta pottie at that point.1 person likes this
@PageTurner (2825)
• United States
2 Jul 12
I am not sure that I even know how to respond to this, JenInTN. ;)
@thewonderboy (7501)
• India
29 Jun 12
Here in kerala we have telephones on almost on every public places. They are cheap and people don't use them because they have their own mobile phones with special offers. Sometimes i do use them if i don't have account balance on my mobile.
1 person likes this
@shivanisd (387)
• India
29 Jun 12
wow thats great. we dont have that even in the capital new delhi.
@PageTurner (2825)
• United States
29 Jun 12
Thanks for sharing this, thewonderboy.
There are still banks of telephones in places like airports, but it is rare to see a public telephone elsewhere.
Peace
@PageTurner (2825)
• United States
29 Jun 12
It's okay, AmbiePam. I knew what you meant, and I also understand the compulsion to correct it, as I often do it, too.
Peace
@RitterSport (2451)
• Lippstadt, Germany
6 Jul 12
hi dear PageTurner here you wont find many Telephone Booths any more. We have both types, the fully closed ones and the stand up type. I always hated the stand up type when I still didnt have my personal landline.
As almost everyone has a personal landline now and/or a mobile phone these phone boxes are really not needed any more.
@roshigo58 (4859)
• Pune, India
4 Jul 12
hi,
In our country we have telephone booths everywhere and they are fully closed with proper privacy. Even we have telephone facility at Mumbai Pune express highway. Now a days every one is having either a mobile or a landlines so very rarely we go to telephone booth to phone. But some years back i have used it and was very convenient and comfortable to talk and stand.
1 person likes this
@PageTurner (2825)
• United States
4 Jul 12
It sounds like your country has quite the posh telephone booths, roshigo58!
@vidhyaprakash_2 (7116)
• India
29 Jun 12
Hi friend, in our place, public phones are quite common and we can see this kind of phones in every street. Some pco booths are also available, but now a days cell phone is quite common and most of the people having their own cell phone, so most of the phone booths are vanished now and some public phones are available in the street corner, we must insert the coin in the phone box to make a call from it
1 person likes this
@PageTurner (2825)
• United States
29 Jun 12
Hello vdhyahprakash_2
What is the meaning of, 'pco booths'?
