London telephone booths are the same attraction in England as Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace. Even now, when there are significantly fewer of them on the streets, they appear as red spots in almost any street photograph. Invented at the dawn of telephony by an Englishman, the red booth served the city for many years. And now, at a new stage in the development of the industry, he is trying to find a use for himself so as not to remain a postcard picture.
Telephone to the masses
Alexander Bell, who patented the “talking telephone” in 1876, made an ingenious, but extremely expensive invention for that time. Only very rich people who had the opportunity to install the device at home or in the office could use it. But soon this device was the birth of a new business - public communication.
At first, communication devices were installed in public places - cafes,pharmacies, shops. But it also brought up a lot of inconveniences. First, the confidentiality of the conversation was violated. The subscriber was separated from other visitors by a fabric curtain, which, covering the speaker himself, did not muffle his voice. Secondly, after the closure of establishments, communication became unavailable.
To solve these problems, English telephone boxes began to be installed on the street. Light structures were intended to protect the device and the subscriber from bad weather and prying ears. At the beginning of the 20th century, as now, there were many vandals on the streets: they stole coins, broke equipment, damaged booths.
The idea of unifying phone booths
In addition, the booths were built completely different, in accordance with the taste of those who installed them. It was not easy to guess, being in a strange area, behind which door the phone was located.
In 1912, Britain's telephone network was nationalized, and the state-owned General Post Office (GPO) was established to work in this area. It was then that the idea arose to unify telephone equipment for ease of service, as well as to approve a single type of London telephone booths. The idea was put into practice only a few years later, as the First World War began.
D. G. Scott's cubicle
The first booths created under the auspices of the GPO in 1920 have not survived. Only a few of them were made, and they were called K1 (Kiosk 1). Beige concrete structures had a wooden door with glass. Only the door frame was red. I did not like the design of the boothLondoners: already at the time of installation, it seemed old-fashioned and boring. Therefore, the question of alternative development arose very quickly.
In 1924, a competition was announced to create a new kiosk. Some operational experience dictated the prerequisites: the material must be cast iron, the cost of the product is no more than 40 pounds sterling.
The competition was won by the architect D. G. Scott, presenting his work to the jury. The classical style of the building was approved. True, the cost of the product exceeded the limit, but this did not prevent the London K2 telephone box and its subsequent modifications from becoming an integral part of the landscape of urban and rural streets in England. The postal administration, acting as the customer, made a single, but significant change to the appearance of the booth. It required a change in color from gray to red, clearly visible from afar in any weather.
Since 1926, London red telephone boxes have been installed on the streets of the city, then its environs, and even later in the colonial English countries.
K3 and K4
The cost of the K2 product did not make it popular, and in 1928 Sir Giles Gilbert Scott was asked to work on improving the model. The born kiosk K3 also did not stay on the streets for long. By this time, the GPO wanted to have a universal kiosk that, in addition to telephone equipment, could accommodate a mailbox and a stamp vending machine.
As a result, the K4 cabin appeared, which repeatedmodel K2, but significantly increased in size.
Perfect cab K6
For the anniversary of King George V, a new order was given to the architect Scott, the Post Office wanted to make a gift to the monarch. K6 in many ways repeated the K2 model, but at the same time it was its excellent refinement. Its weight was half a ton less, the cost was much lower. In addition, it was equipped with such things necessary for English citizens: an ashtray, music stand, notepad, mirror.
The king did not live to see the anniversary kiosk on the street. But it is this version of the English red telephone box that is the landmark of the city and the country.
What happened next?
The moment came when the GPO decided it was time to redesign the red stalls. There were several such attempts: in 1951 and 1962. But the new models did not take root on the streets of the city, they were not accepted by the townspeople, they looked like foreign objects.
The eighth generation of telephone booths was designed by architect Bruce Martin. Model K8 was experimentally installed in London. When trying to replace old kiosks with new ones after trial operation, the public stood up to defend the familiar model. As a result, two thousand old cabins received the status of protected objects of national importance, but this did not stop progress. Most of the cabs have been replaced with new generation models. However, in the historic district of the capital of Great Britain, London telephone boxes remained, the photos of which are known to the whole world.
The second life of old stalls
Formerlythere were about 80,000 old-style telephone booths on the streets of the city. After replacement with new ones and taking into account the advent of mobile communications, there are less than ten thousand of them left. Where did the dismantled kiosks go? Were they destroyed?
Maybe some of the more dilapidated and subject to disposal, but some got a different fate. A program was announced around the country "Take care of a telephone booth" for one pound. 1.5 thousand K6 stalls hit it.
The area freed from dismantled equipment is being developed by local residents in different ways. Most often, they arrange a book and disk exchange point, which is available to anyone around the clock. Sometimes it's a room for an art exhibition, sometimes a small pub or shop, for example, chocolate. Some booths are fitted with live defibrillators for medical assistance.
Part of the booths were auctioned to private hands as antiques. The owners, having shown miracles of ingenuity, made them part of the home interior, arranging a personal telephone zone, an aquarium, a table, even a shower cabin. The most popular version of the London telephone booth is a wardrobe for clothes, books, toys, dishes. Booths are used in the design of restaurants, clubs, offices.
The well-deserved generation of kiosks was also given its due by artists. The famous sculptural composition Out of order ("Does not work"), installed in Kingston, is its attraction. In twelve booths falling like dominoes, the artist D. Macham sawa fading era.
Cabins of present and future
Of course, London's telephone boxes will not disappear from the streets of the city. Despite the presence of modern gadgets in everyday life, ordinary telephone communication can always be useful to someone. Citizens are increasingly faced with another problem: insufficient charging of equipment. Therefore, in 2014, the first bright green kiosk appeared in London, which has equipment for charging various types of devices. There are four types of connectors. The chargers are powered by solar panels mounted on the roof of the kiosk.
New kiosks are next in line, in which, in addition to phones, touch displays are installed. There you can use information services, a map of a city or district, a Wi-Fi point. The evolution of kiosks does not end there. The company is ready to launch new projects.
