# Any Places Still Have Phone Booths? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 3, 2010, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-places-still-have-phone-booths/555927 "2010-10-03T16:56:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2017, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-places-still-have-phone-booths/555927/61 "2017-01-06T03:49:31Z")
There’s one in the parking lot of a convenience store about 10 miles north of where I live (out in the sticks). I checked to see if it worked the last time I was up there about a year ago, but I neglected to check to see how much a call costs. I saw about a half dozen pay phones when I was in Bermuda, including a few that were the classic British-style full booths with the door and everything. One was at the Botanical Gardens in front of the Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art (which was green rather than red), and I ducked into it when it started to rain. I didn’t test for a dial tone, but it did have a phone book. The other was near the cruise ship docks at the Royal Naval Dockyard. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2017, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-places-still-have-phone-booths/555927/62 "2017-01-06T06:30:55Z")
It’s been a decade since I drove, but a lot of truck stops had whole lines of booths in the drivers’ areas. Not usually the stereotypical foldy door type, more regular door with a window. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2017, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-places-still-have-phone-booths/555927/63 "2017-01-06T07:39:23Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > It’s been a decade since I drove, but a lot of truck stops had whole lines of booths in the drivers’ areas. Not usually the stereotypical foldy door type, more regular door with a window. A decade is enough to make a big difference in this question, though. The original thread was from 2010, and it was dwindling back then, and I’m wondering now how many may still be functional and present in the US. I have found some anecdotal evidence on the web that they are still fairly common in Hawaii, but that’s all I’ve got for the US. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2017, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-places-still-have-phone-booths/555927/64 "2017-01-06T18:03:10Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Oh, cool. Do you know exactly where that is? I mean, I see you said “near the Logan Square Station” but where? I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen an actual outdoor public telephone here in Chicago. It is in the Paseo Prarie Garden, near the church. I’m mobile and can’t easily link but I found it on Streetview. That mural is pretty distinctive. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2017, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-places-still-have-phone-booths/555927/65 "2017-01-06T18:08:41Z")
We still have them at transit stations in Portland, OR, due to a long-standing policy of installing them that hasn’t been changed in 30 years. Supposedly, they are considering replacing them with emergency phone. > **[Why do new MAX stops have payphones? (Commuting Q&A)](https://www.oregonlive.com/commuting/2016/12/why_do_brand-new_max_stops_hav.html)** > > At a time when payphones are mostly disappearing, they have been installed at all or most MAX Orange Line platforms. Why is that? ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2017, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-places-still-have-phone-booths/555927/66 "2017-01-06T18:12:56Z")
Pretty much every major airport has a bank of pay phones somewhere. But booths? Not so much. There was a blue phone booth that said Police that showed up on the corner the other day, but it’s gone now. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2017, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-places-still-have-phone-booths/555927/67 "2017-01-06T18:16:58Z")
I occasionally still see pay phones (in their partial enclosures) at convenience stores, but even those have mostly vanished. I don’t think I’ve seen an actual fully-enclosed four-wall-and-a-roof phone BOOTH in years. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2017, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-places-still-have-phone-booths/555927/68 "2017-01-06T19:33:24Z")
I saw one today, actually, in a strip mall. **And I actually saw someone go in to use it.** I was waiting outside the driver’s license place for it to open and was gobsmacked at what I was seeing. I was going to call out “Hey, you can just use my cell phone” but she’d already closed the little door. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2017, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-places-still-have-phone-booths/555927/69 "2017-01-06T19:36:40Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I saw one today, actually, in a strip mall. **And I actually saw someone go in to use it.** I was waiting outside the driver’s license place for it to open and was gobsmacked at what I was seeing. I was going to call out “Hey, you can just use my cell phone” but she’d already closed the little door. I’ll bet the number of people who enter a true booth so they can use their cell phone in a quiet, private area greatly dwarfs the number who enter it to actually use the pay phone. I’ve seen bars in Portland and SF that have old-timey booths for this purpose (no pay phone, just a booth). ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2017, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-places-still-have-phone-booths/555927/70 "2017-01-06T20:37:21Z")
There are some left in Paris. I’ve been wondering for a while who would use them nowadays and why. And since I’ve been wondering, I noticed that I never see anybody in them. ---
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2017, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-places-still-have-phone-booths/555927/71 "2017-01-06T22:49:41Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Oh, cool. Do you know exactly where that is? I mean, I see you said “near the Logan Square Station” but where? I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen an actual outdoor public telephone here in Chicago. Ha! My phone saved an address: 2610 N Milwaukee Ave. I found it right outside the station as I got off the train. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2017, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-places-still-have-phone-booths/555927/72 "2017-01-07T01:30:42Z")
There’s still at least one phone booth in Rochester, NY. It’s one of the red British-style ones. I think they keep it around because it’s picturesque. I’ll admit I’ve never actually checked to see if the phone is operable but the booth is kept up in good repair. [https://www.google.com/maps/@43.1026673,-77.541368,3a,75y,87.97t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1saQrEme5\_waOn0MmUb4ggBg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1](https://www.google.com/maps/@43.1026673,-77.541368,3a,75y,87.97t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1saQrEme5_waOn0MmUb4ggBg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2017, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-places-still-have-phone-booths/555927/73 "2017-01-07T01:48:19Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > A decade is enough to make a big difference in this question, though. The original thread was from 2010, and it was dwindling back then, and I’m wondering now how many may still be functional and present in the US. Haven’t seen any in the US for awhile, which is why I was pretty surprised when I saw several red phone boxes when I passed by small towns in England last summer: the first one I dismissed as an affectation, but then upon seeing several others, thought that they couldn’t _all_ be nostalgic, non-functional pieces and England probably does have a lot more pay phones than the US does. None to be seen the one time I actually had to make a call, of course. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2017, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-places-still-have-phone-booths/555927/74 "2017-01-07T02:13:58Z")
There’s a pay phone on the wall at the school where I work (right outside my room, actually). I picked up the receiver in the last couple of years and there was a dial tone. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2017, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-places-still-have-phone-booths/555927/75 "2017-01-07T03:51:12Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > None to be seen the one time I actually had to make a call, of course. Probably in use by a tardy doctor. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2017, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-places-still-have-phone-booths/555927/76 "2017-01-07T03:59:18Z")
> [@imfloating](#): > > Metropolis Not like the old days, let me tell you. See at 2:28 here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=394jYH82s2o](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=394jYH82s2o) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2017, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-places-still-have-phone-booths/555927/77 "2017-01-07T04:18:33Z")
> [@Tamex](#): > > Ha! My phone saved an address: 2610 N Milwaukee Ave. I found it right outside the station as I got off the train. Thanks for checking it out for me! It’s just so weird to me how quickly they seem to have disappeared. I mean, obviously it happened gradually, but it wasn’t until a few years ago that I realized that something that was such an everyday sight in my childhood and teens had seemingly vanished. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2017, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-places-still-have-phone-booths/555927/78 "2017-01-07T04:45:44Z")
> [@John\_Bredin](#): > > …Again in metro Chicago, there’s a British-style red phone booth at each of the two Glenview Metra stations. There’s a refurbished and still-working one in the Ogilvie Square shopping mall in East Liverpool, Ohio, too. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2017, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-places-still-have-phone-booths/555927/79 "2017-01-07T05:08:47Z")
In front of my supermarket, Rio Grande Street, Victoria Texas. Not a red booth, but a pay phone on a pedestal. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2017, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-places-still-have-phone-booths/555927/80 "2017-01-07T05:08:48Z")
I’m seeing quite a few payphones here in Honolulu. Used one at the airport when I first arrived. They’re alive and well here. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-places-still-have-phone-booths/555927.md?page=3)