Birds Marine Raquette Lake, NY. Photo by Daniel Hopsicker.
At various times the BN800 eggshell/egg-shaped payphone enclosure has been the most frequently searched for term at this website. I guess I can see why, the booth cuts a unique profile, though this was hardly an uncommon enclosure throughout the United States. I saw them in Nebraska, in Brooklyn, the Virgin Islands, the Caribbean, and even in the movies, where this style of enclosure made an appearance in The Phone Booth Game, from “Dirty Harry”.
This enclosure, photographed by Daniel Hopsicker, was spotted just a few months ago at the Birds Marine in Raquette Lake, New York. This model was produced by the Benner-Nawman company, at one time the #1 manufacturer of phone booths and payphone enclosures in the United States. That company has since moved on from phone booth equipment and evolved into manufacturing and distributing other products.
If you are in or planning to pass through Del Valle, Texas, you might even be able to pick up a BN800 Vanguard for your collection. At $2999 the price might be a little steep, but it looks like a lot of quality work went into refurbishing the payphone. The roof of the enclosure is a little off-putting. Here is the listing on eBay for a 60s Mod Telephone Booth with 1969 Chrome Payphone, 100% Original, Restored in 85
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Nice article Daniel - thanks! I currently work for Benner-Nawman in digital arts and business development. While the BN business today is a supplier of tools and newer kinds of electrical and media cabinetry and enclosures - it's great to see memorable gems like the BN800 Vanguard. I recently learned that the Dallas Cowboys installed the BN800 at the old Texas Stadium - painted as Cowboy football helmets (tempting to repaint midnight green for our Philly Eagles, but not the point). One day we would love to see if any of those were preserved from the stadium; sadly - I have yet to locate a picture of one of those.
I wonder if those old Cowboys enclosures would be considered valuable collectibles. I've seen eBay listings of payphones with NFL logos on them but don't remember ever seeing a BN800 as you describe. Makes perfect sense, though, given its shape.