English telephone booths were given a second life

The well-known design of the booth in which the street phone was located belongs to Giles Gilbert Scott. The red cast-iron booth was first introduced after the competition in 1924. She looked very unusual.

For 90 years, telephone booths have remained popular with the UK population, but with the advent of smartphones, the need for them has disappeared.

Some of them have survived, as enterprising people exploited the buildings as a point of exchange of books, snack bars, cafeterias, etc.

Advanced British

A resident of the United Kingdom, Umar Khalid, successfully works at the Kape Barako cafe-bar. Although telephone booths have not been used for a long time, they are part of the culture of this country.

Nigel Ling, a professor of telecommunications at the University of Salford and author of The British Phonebox, says: "Giles Gilbert Scott presented a design that captured the imagination of people. The red booth with the dome roof looked very unusual against the backdrop of the street. "

Get a phone booth

British telecom company British Telecom has presented the program "Buy a booth", encouraging entrepreneurs and companies to buy old red phone booths for 1 pound sterling (less than 2 US dollars) and use them at their discretion. Two of them were on the coast of the southern seaside town of Brighton (England). They were seen by locals Edward Ottvell and Steve Beeken, and they had an interesting business idea.

"They were empty and we thought that we could sell sunglasses and hats directly from the phone booths, which are a very convenient place for this business," says Ottvell.

Colleagues on business have restored all such facilities in Brighton, and then organized the company Red Kiosk. There was also a plan to purchase another 500 phone booths throughout the country.

A resident of London, Umar Khalid, refitted a telephone booth near Hampstead Heath, a large park in the northern suburbs of the city, in the flourishing café "Cap Barako". Khalid says that his booth is regularly photographed by local residents and tourists, causing numerous comments on Instagram and Facebook.

In Birmingham, the second largest city in the UK, locals praise the small shop Jake's Coffee Shop, organized in a similar booth.

The smallest Internet cafe in Scotland is located in a telephone booth

Telephone booths are often associated with the British capital, but they can also be seen in the countryside. In the Scottish village of Maryvell in Balinge, bordering the national park of Cairngorms, the locals turned this structure into the smallest Internet cafe in Scotland. It has become a digital oasis in an area where 3G and 4G phones are difficult to catch.

The phone booth dates back to 1940 and is adjacent to the Butterworth gallery run by Sarah Parker. Parker had the idea to connect Wi-Fi to the phone kiosk and supplement it with a special machine for making hot drinks.

"I had to repaint the bouquet. We were forced to seal all the glasses, as it was missing water, "says Marywell resident David Yuni, adding that this work helped unite the inhabitants. The bunk became the center of attention in a picturesque village.

Sometimes residents clean the coffee machine, but not because of fear of being stolen, but because they are worried that the water in it can freeze.

Library

In the suburbs of southeastern London, residents turned the telephone booth into a successful Lewisham Micro library.

Many people are very fond of Lewisham, and the initial fears about vandalism were absolutely unfounded. "As a rule, nothing bad happens because people really like this idea," says Bennett, the founder of the library.

Work on the go

Pod Works is another company that has managed to reorganize telephone booths. This time they were converted into mini-stations for passengers and tourists. Cabs are decorated with a 25-inch screen, and are also equipped with a power unit and a machine for making hot drinks.

"Telephone booths have been abandoned at the moment, and we wanted to reuse them for the needs of the 21st century," says Lorna Moore, managing director of Pod Works.

Preservation of heritage

Will the phone booths go to the past definitively? It seems that no: this year the British streets will be supplemented by their modernized models.

British Telecom introduced the Links booth, equipped with a screen with advertising, information boards and Wi-Fi, while World Pay Phones also offers a modern design that includes a cult domed roof.

The phone booth has been modernized, but it will still provide access to telecommunications services, the nature of which has changed dramatically in recent decades.

While some red cabins are kept as a rarity, their owners are worried that the converted old structures will be cleaned to make room for new ones.

"We want to protect and save as many phone booths as possible and do something good for the community," says Edward Ottwell. - Business ideas provide new jobs. We are striving to protect our heritage. "