The Old Payphone Across From Ravenswood

This one was across from the Ravenswood Houses, and outside the KNA bodega that finally got shut down for selling cigarettes to minors. This was among the last electrical payphone enclosures in New York. By 2016 virtually all phone enclosures of this style were solar-powered but not this one. The old-school “TELEPHONE” lettering on top is also a nice touch.

This payphone got a lot of use, but the advertising enclosure got a lot of abuse. The duct tape looks like it might be the only thing holding this structure up. The ad panels did not usually stay in place for long, typically ending up on the sidewalk or on 34th Avenue after someone ripped them out.

In years past Ravenswood had probably a couple dozen payphones dotting its perimeters. This is not actually on Ravenswood/NYCHA property but it was the last public phone to which Ravenswood residents had ready access. I always loved how it glowed in the night, its bedraggled, embattled husk still standing.