The last Payphone, have they really gone the way of the 8-Track Player?
If you listen to the media, one would think payphones are obsolete when in fact they are enjoying a resurgance
The coin-operated public payphone has gone the way of film cameras, eight track tapes, and VCRs.
Literally the last public payphone in New York City — located on 50th street and 7th avenue, right on Times Square — has been removed and placed in the Museum of the City of New York [as of May of 2022].
Sometimes I reminisce about things I used to do or used to have that are non-existent now or barely hanging on to existence and the payphone is one of them — along with my AMC Pacer.
I remember as late as 1994 standing in the rain getting drenched trying to make a call on a payphone.
“Please deposit. Twenty-five cents. For. Three. Minutes,” the monotone voice instructed me.
I drop a quarter into the slot and hear the coin fall.
“Thank you!” the voice chimed.
I hurriedly press the eleven digits on the keypad and listen to the ringing on the other end. “Hello”?
The rain is coming down hard as I talk on the payphone hanging off the wall of my local…
