Payphones still dot the American landscape, though nowhere near as abundantly as in earlier generations. Today payphones are most commonly found at transit hubs such as airports, bus terminals, and train stations; at concert hall venues and arenas; at tourist destinations, hotels, and motels; amusement parks; at gas stations; at national and city parks. Only in larger cities can one expect find payphones curbside or in ordinary business establishments.

As I learned recently, according to APCC (American Public Communication Council) statistics the U.S. cities with the highest numbers of payphones are, by order of rank: New York City, Houston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco. New York’s approximately 9,000 payphones lead the list, while San Francisco’s relatively paltry 200 phones comes in last. This leaves countless large U.S. cities with virtually no payphones whatsoever. Cities like Miami, Dallas, Jacksonville, San Diego, and Cleveland (among many others) appear to be virtually payphone-free. This circumstance should concern disaster and emergency planners who should be able to point people to where they can make a phone call during a crisis situation.

Their paucity today in most parts of the U.S. makes payphone sightings not just rare but even an exciting source of nostalgia for those of a certain age who remember when these communication outposts were our only means of communication when travelling or away from home.

Payphones remain a lifeline for an ever-shrinking percentage of Americans. This is largely because the government-subsidized Lifeline program (often ignorantly referred to as the “Obama Phone”) has made free cell phones available to the poorest Americans who comprised the payphone industry’s last reliable customer base.

Some have suggested the Lineline program intentionally targeted the payphone business, an accusation the FCC has denied.

Josef Hoflehner’s photo, taken this calendar year, shows a living, breathing, dial-tone-enabled payphone on a snow-caked boardwalk of Lake Erie, Ohio. Prints are available for purchase, though I had a hard time figuring out how to make an order. I guess you simply contact the photographer.