Images by N.D. Harrington for The Sophisticated Gentleman
I was walking through The Commons in Pasadena and came across these relics. They’ve been here for years and I’ve even used them once or twice a number of years back. Interestingly, Nightline just recently did a segment about how these “phone bins,” as they are called in the UK, are becoming increasingly obsolete in Europe. Stepping into one of these today (just for old-time’s sake, not to actually make a call), was like stepping back in time. But, I actually miss occasionally using them, but realize what they've come to represented; functional obsolescence.
Does anyone remember stopping at one of these on your way to pick up a date to confirm the time or the address? Hoping that you not only had enough change, but didn’t get a busy signal, so that you wouldn’t have to impatiently wait around for the line to be cleared and then call back. (Since, of course, an “Emergency Breakthrough” was unheard of if she still lived at home with her parents.) I’m pretty sure that Gabby Douglas didn’t use one of these to call back to the states to share her Olympic victories with family and friends; generations X, Y and Z are as unfamiliar with these as they are Encyclopedias, LPs and Typewriters. That would have made a great picture though.
Does anyone remember stopping at one of these on your way to pick up a date to confirm the time or the address? Hoping that you not only had enough change, but didn’t get a busy signal, so that you wouldn’t have to impatiently wait around for the line to be cleared and then call back. (Since, of course, an “Emergency Breakthrough” was unheard of if she still lived at home with her parents.) I’m pretty sure that Gabby Douglas didn’t use one of these to call back to the states to share her Olympic victories with family and friends; generations X, Y and Z are as unfamiliar with these as they are Encyclopedias, LPs and Typewriters. That would have made a great picture though.
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