New York’s last Public Payphone is sent to a museum

New York’s last Public Payphone is sent to a museum by New York City officials. The Payphone was located in Times Square – 7th Ave & 50th St.

The retirement of age-old iconic Payphones signals freedom from scouring for quarters to make calls. The removal of the phone box at 745 Seventh Avenue marks the completion of an eight-year programme to phase out public payphones in favour of contemporary technology. Since the proliferation of cellphones rendered the booths obsolete, the decision was a natural move.

END OF AN ERA.

NYC’s last free-standing pay phones removed this a.m. in Times Sq. (7th Ave & 50th St.).

No more fishing in your pocket for quarters.pic.twitter.com/ZtRhzWPp4G

— Mark D. Levine (@MarkLevineNYC) May 23, 2022

According to the official website of NYC, even though the usage has gone way down, the public pay telephones are still used for regular calls and long distance calls. Public pay telephones also provide free access to 911 and 311. In 2015, the city began eliminating street payphones to make way for hitech LinkNYC kiosks that provide functions like:

• 24/7 free encrypted Wi-Fi with up to gigabit speeds
• Free phone calls to anywhere in the U.S.
• Integrated lighting
• Digital displays which exhibit strategic, insight-driven advertisements & public service announcements
• Tactile keypad with Braille lettering, dedicated 911 button, speaker, microphone & headphone jack
• USB charger for free mobile device usage
• Video Relay System to provide service to users with disabilities
• Touchscreen Android tablet with access to certain City services, with multi-lingual support
  

Out with the old, in with the new! NYC's last free-standing pay phones were removed today; they'll be replaced with a Link, boosting accessibility and connectivity across the city. #upgrade 🪛🔌📶 pic.twitter.com/UIBULnbi74

— LinkNYC (@LinkNYC) May 23, 2022

“Just like we transitioned from the horse and buggy to the automobile and from the automobile to the airplane”, explained Commissioner Matthew Fraser. “The digital evolution has progressed from payphones to high-speed Wi-Fi kiosks to meet the demands of our rapidly changing daily communications needs”.

The last public payphone will be on display at the Museum of the City of New York as part of an exhibit about life in the Big Apple before mobile phones took over.

New York’s last Public Payphone is sent to a museum which means that New York’s last Public Payphone is sent to a museum.