The Pay Phones Are All Gone!

     There are some 7-Billion cell phones in use around the world, 350-Million of them in the U.S.
     But there was a time when drivers actually had to stop their cars and insert coins to make a phone call.

     Yes kids, there was a time before cell phones, and people were not reachable 24/7. 
     Back then, in the mid to late 1900's, there were hundreds or even thousands of "pay phones" in the Montgomery area.  

They were so popular some locations offered two, back to back! And you didn't even have to get out of your car to use one.

     The Alabama Public Service Commission regulates---or I should say regulated them.
     They're all gone now:

"Thank you for your recent inquiry regarding payphones in the Montgomery area.  According to our Mr. Darrell Baker, Director of the Commission’s Utility Services Division, there are “no” active customer-owned, coin-operated pay phones remaining in the River Region.  The closest one is in Tallassee."

Even further back in communications history, there were indoor and outdoor pay phone booths, where people could conduct private conversations without everyone listening in. (These days it seems everyone wants their calls to be heard!)

Superman sometimes used them to change into his Superman costume!

Anna Long of Pike Road, 8, imagines making a call.

These two booths are on exhibit in the Department of Archives and History in Montgomery as part of a kids area called "Grandma's Attic".







Archives personnel use them as a teaching tool: