Booth (well, one of those outdoor pedestals) near me, should I try to save it?

[ChrisW6ATV]

Hi all-

Not too far from me, is (or was, a year or two ago) an outdoor pedestal for a pay phone with no phone in it. Are those generally worth saving or trying to get/buy them? I figure that an "official" Pacific Bell one would be a lot nicer to have than some random one made in the 1990s, but I do not know. What do you all think? Should I at least go and see if it is still there, and ask about it?

[MMikeJBenN27]

...Should I at least go and see if it is still there, and ask about it?

I would.  They are part of our history and culture, so yes, it is worth saving.

Mike

[ChrisW6ATV]

Thanks, Mike. I will check the site in the next few days if I can.

[FABphones]

...They are part of our history and culture, so yes, it is worth saving.

I agree.

Take photos, and please add them to this thread. They may be the last images of it before it disappears forever.

Let us know how you get on. Good luck.

[FABphones]

...I will check the site in the next few days if I can.

How did you get on?

[CanadianGuy]

This scrap pile of MTS payphone stands I saw a while back made it onto Google Street View. RIP

[ChrisW6ATV]

Hi, I still did not take the time to go check for the booth/pedestal. I did make a note for myself, to go to the location this Saturday, September 24. I should be near it that morning, so I hope I can get an update and maybe some pictures. Thank you for reminding me about it.

[ChrisW6ATV]

Good news so far: I went to the location, and the booth is still there. Two of them, in fact! But, it was early, and they were not yet open for business. Perhaps I need to go back, with my pickup truck and a tool box, and say "Do you want me to remove those right now, safely?" to the owner (if he is the man I have seen there before). One booth even has a cradle for a phone book, still in decent condition.

[RDPipes]

Well, I don't know your background but, these look to be connected to the power grid, over head (vertical conduit along side one) and to safely remove them or even just one, one must be, I assume at least a card carrying journeyman electrician because you would be dealing with part of the cities utilities. Unless of course there powered from another source that isn't public related, I'm left to assume from what I can see in the photos. But, it still enters the area of where the public would be in so the electrical access would have to be secured from the public to prevent lawsuits.
And would these booths belong to the store owner or the phone company? I would think they still belong to someone still. Having dealt with this sort of scenario before I know how some can be. There can be an old worthless shack ready to fall down at a whisper that has been sitting for eons that everyone wants taken down but, the minute you take one sliver of it someone shows up with a law suit or a warrant.   

[FABphones]

I agree with the above. More research required. Ownership needs to be confirmed (written permission would be a good idea), and should there be any power to these booths (lighting?) don't proceed.

[ChrisW6ATV]

Thank you, RDPipes and FABphones for your comments. I was being a bit bold (or optimistic) with my "pickup truck" comment.   With a closer look, I do see (and remember) that the one booth has a light fixture attached to it, not visible in the picture. That one also has the handicapped parking sign on it, and those signs can be highly regulated regarding their locations. So, realistically (if any of this is "realistic"   ) I would only attempt to remove the booth on the left, and of course, with full permission from the owner(s).

I am quite experienced with power wiring, but I do not work on energized circuits. Likely, the power is coming from the business rather than from a city/public circuit, so that means the business could shut it off. And I would then have no problem safely removing the wiring to the left booth and capping and terminating all connections and holes to code standards.

The booths have the business name on them rather than being labeled "Pacific Bell", so I highly doubt they are phone-company-owned booths.

They are both bigger than I had remembered (at or near 2 meters/6.5 feet tall), so maybe if I do want to find a pedestal for my 1C3 phone, I should keep looking.

[RoatryPhoneLover_2000]

Hi! By the way, that is a RBOC enclosure, and not a Customer Owned Coin Telephone enclosure, underneath the sticker is probably pacific bell..  please see link to this old Bell enclosure, and it is the same exact enclosure, even the area where it screws into the floor is the same, that is definitely a RBOC enclosure.  I would try to take it, granted if you can.  Please see link : http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=7795.0.  Thanks.

[HarrySmith]

I would attempt to sway the business. That would make a great display, even has the phone book cover. You should check if the original signs are under there. I would tell them how I could remove all that useless ugliness, clean up the area to look much much nicer and even mount the handicap sign properly. I am not an expert but it does not appear to be mounted properly. Those signs are highly regulated IE: size, height of the post, placement etc. Local regulations should be easy to find.

[AL_as_needed]

I imagine if they are part of the business' private property, they would happy to let them go for little to no money vs them paying to have them taken out. Same could be said if they were turned over to a smaller operating company.

Other option os to return with same said truck and carefully introduce the rear bumper 

[ChrisW6ATV]

Hi! By the way, that is a RBOC enclosure, and not a Customer Owned Coin Telephone enclosure

Hi, thank you for the notes and the link to the other discussion. Knowing it is an "official" RBOC pedestal makes it more appealing to put some effort into saving one or both of them. I will get back over to that location within a few days to see what I can find out, including better attention to the wiring/conduits and the attached sign.