Maude Martel uncovers the various ways London’s ubiquitous phone boxes have been reinvented for the modern age
95% of Londoners have a phone (statistic.com). With the rise in technology and better broadband, the need for phone boxes has practically disappeared.
However, London’s phone boxes are a symbol of the city and a central part of what makes London unique. Last November, Ofcom announced that thousands of UK phone boxes would be protected from closure in areas of high accident rates or poor mobile signals.
Nearly 4,000 of BT’s phone boxes from across the UK are now available through their Adopt a Kiosk programme, which offers local authorities the chance to buy them for just £1, to be transformed into various local services, including defibrillator units and book exchanges.
Many other phone boxes have been given a new lease of life, and are still serving communities in unusual ways. Here are some interesting ways old phone boxes have been reinvented.
- Defibrillator units
Perhaps the most common way that phone boxes have been reinvented is turning them into defibrillator units. BT and The Community Heartbeat Trust, are working together to help communities turn their adopted telephone boxes into local medical centres, by using them as homes for Public Access Defibrillators, storing the defibrillator in a well recognised, safe, weather-protected location. This is an amazing initiative that can help save a persons life. According to the Independent, there are now over 800 booths that have defibrillators.
- A Tiramisu cafe
Walkmisú serves fresh tiramisu from a classic red phone box. They are open on the weekend from 10-5pm, and are located in the East corner of Russell Square.
- A stained glass phone box
A phone box located in Embankment has been fitted with a beautiful stained glass window depicting a figure of a knight. The presence of the stained glass window still remains a mystery, as the talented artist who painted it has not yet come forward.
- A tumbling phone boxes sculpture
Many phone boxes have been transformed into pieces of art due to their iconic nature. Visit Old London Road, the site of Kingston’s famous ‘falling over’ phone boxes officially named ‘Out of Order’ by artist David Mach.
The 12 tumbling red phone boxes are striking and are an ode to London’s most iconic symbol. The artist said that “I love these boxes and isn’t it funny that even in these times and although they were removed from the British landscape, I feel they still bind us as a nation.”
- A mini library
An old phone box in Lewisham, close to Goldsmiths University is now used as a mini library, where books can be donated, borrowed or exchanged. Many phoneboxes across the UK have been turned into mini libraries, such as this one in Staffordshire. It is a fun and unique way to encourage reading and share books with the local community.
- A telephone repair shop
There is a certain irony in a a telephone box being converted into a mobile phone repair kiosk, however it is a fitting way of moving with the times. This phone box, under the company Lovefone, repairs mobile phones Monday- Friday from 10am-6pm, and is located in Southampton Row, Holborn.