Northern Boulevard: Payphone Gone

Nothing remains of this payphone, photographed in March, 2004. Nothing, that is, save for the metal spikes in the sidewalk, those slivers of detritus which mark the spots where countless payphones used to stand on city sidewalks and walkways.

The above photo was originally posted to my New York City Payphones Gallery.

I do not recall if this phone, with its mercilessly abused (or perhaps just flimsy) handset stitched together with duct tape, worked at the time of this photo. I have found similarly wrecked-looking payphone handsets which have a dial tone and are fully functional. In such cases one needs simply to hold both ends of the receiver with separate hands to have a conversation.

Today, in another example of the changing landscape of payphones, there is nothing but air where this public phone used to be:

The full set of metal spikes which used to help support this payphone is partly obscured by a box of Choco Sprites and some papers.