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 first big telco to exit payphones, but never had holdings in this part of the country. Bell South exited payphones by 2003. This photo is from 2011. It was not uncommon to see brands of regional telcos from other parts of the country on NYC payphones. The equipment for the phones was passed around to those that could use them after being retired by those who could not.

I believe this phone vanished in 2012. If I remember right the business here used to be, in the sometimes forgotten world of pre-Street View, a car parts store, where I bought The Club for my car. The place then became a furniture store but the signage for the car parts store remained for a long time. It is still a furniture store, but not the same one that replaced the auto parts place.

This photo is from last week. The “0% FINANCING” signage is still there, surviving the changeover of the place from one owner to another.

All that remains of the payphone today are some metal spikes in the sidewalk, a ghostly vestige of the clamshell enclosure’s base, positioned at a 45º angle.

I do not recall ever using this phone.