Payphones Past

Then and Now

Unexpected Payphone Find on Atlantic Avenue in Queens

An unexpected payphone find in Ozone Park, Queens, led to a trip through its Streetview then-and-now history from 2007, when…

2 years ago

Payphones of Elizabeth, NJ: Where Are They Now? (Video)

When last I passed through Elizabeth I remember being surprised not just by the quantity but by the fact that…

4 years ago

Phone Booth Scene From “Witness” (1985)

A website visitor directed me to this phone booth scene from the 1985 film Witness, starring Harrison Ford. Ford is…

4 years ago

Payphone Archæology at Grand Central Terminal

Do any payphones remain in the Grand Central Terminal passages, closed since the pandemic struck? A map of the Terminal…

4 years ago

A Gas Station Payphone, Then and Now, Then and Gone.

The vestige of a payphone past lingers on at this spot, as much as 25 years after its removal. I…

4 years ago

Ravenswood Payphones Replaced With Dogpoop Receptacles.

The exact spots where payphones used to stand around the Ravenswood Houses are today all occupied by "DOG WASTE STATION"…

4 years ago

Rockefeller Center’s “Communications” Portal, Then and Now.

Unlike most phones from my "Payphones Then and Now" series I found one that not only physically survives in this…

4 years ago

A Best Buy Payphone, Then and Now. No, Not *That* Best Buy Payphone.

Where is he now? This payphone user, that is. Probably talking on a cell phone. I never see anyone use…

4 years ago

Steinway Street at 34th Avenue: Another Payphone Gone

All I remember about this one was that it had a Bell South logo on it. Bell South was the…

4 years ago

Payphones of Yore at Steinway Street Near 31st Avenue

Some things changed, others did not at this Astoria intersection. One thing altogether gone is the set of three payphones,…

4 years ago