Two of my life’s loves meet in this alley near New Calvary Cemetery on Queens Boulevard. It is a payphone at a cemetery.

My interest in payphones dates to grade school but in more recent years I have developed an interest in some of the cemeteries and graveyards of New York City — with particular interests in Old Calvary Cemetery in Queens as well as the three yards which comprise New Calvary.

I first photographed this payphone in October, 2006, but spotted it again in July, 2009. I was surprised to see that this payphone still existed at this location, though like everything else here the line is dead. There is no dial tone, the sign is toppled, and chances are this useless hulk of telephony will be hauled off to a payphone cemetery sooner or later.

The number for this payphone used to be (718) 803-0365.