OT - Oldest phone booth I've ever seen
Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 5:59 pm
Yesterday afternoon, Lauri and I went up to the grounds of Cragmont, the old Madison State Hospital (mental hospital) that sits high on a bluff overlooking the city of Madison and a beautiful bend in the Ohio River. The complex of yellow brick and red tile roof buildings was completed in 1910. Only one of the many buildings on the campus is used for its original purpose today. We walked up to the front doors of the magnificent administration building and peered through the glass. In a few moments, a woman came and opened the door and asked if she could help us (we had been spotted on closed circuit TV). I explained that we were admiring the building and she let us come in to look around with the admonition that no cameras were allowed inside. The interior of the building is original right down to the light fixtures and very beautiful. On one wall of the lobby is the oldest telephone booth I have ever seen! The phone inside is a modern push-button payphone, but the booth is solid oak boards, not veneer. The interior walls are covered in finely patterned stamped tin panels (like a tin ceiling) and japanned green. The pull handle to shut the door is white porcelain on brass mounts. The seat is oak. When the door is closed, the switch still activates the light to come on. I looked it over for a brand plate, but did not see one. I figured many of us phono people are interested in early telephony, too, and this was hands-down the oldest telephone booth I have ever seen. PS, I don't know what 'LEED Certified' means in the image I swiped from the internet. The admin building is the obvious one in the center.
John M
John M
