Little Boxes
(By Elizabeth Tuico) At the start of the pandemic, long walks became my daily ritual. I began to notice boxes mounted to cast iron columns on many D.C. street corners. Some were transformed into public art pieces while others remain hollowed out, rusting shells.
What were these boxes, and why do they remain?
Turns out they are historic call boxes, remnants of a sophisticated communications system that began in the District of Columbia in 1864. Before telephones, citizens used the boxes to communicate with the fire and police departments. Initially, the boxes were illuminated by gas, then gradually converted to electricity in the 1920s.
Each box had a spring wound movement and operated much like an alarm clock. When the box was pulled, its location code number was transmitted to the central alarm office. (Imagine an underground telegraph system…)
Remarkably, these boxes remained operational until the early 1980s – after more than 100 years of service – until 911 became the national alert standard.
At their peak, 1,500 emergency call boxes lit up the District of Columbia at night.
In 2000, the city prepared to collect the 700 or so that were still on the street. However, they were heavy and expensive to clear away. That’s when Cultural Tourism DC suggested turning some into works of art – little boxes that reflect the District’s distinct communities. Their internal mechanisms were removed. The DC Department of Transportation scraped away the lead paint and primed the surviving boxes to stabilize them from the elements.
The Art on Call initiative began in 2000, and Cultural Tourism DC restored 145 boxes in different neighborhoods around the city.
It’s estimated that 500 U.S. cities used call boxes for emergency communication before the telephone and two-way radio were invented. However, Washington, D.C. is one of the only places where remnants of the system can be found in their original street locations.
The D.C. Commission on Arts and Humanities now oversees the call box beautification project. In 2018, nine call boxes were transformed to honor nine influential women. Learn more here.
I lived in the District of Columbia for 25 years before I paid attention to the boxes. It wasn’t until the world stopped that I really began to notice the small things. What else did I miss?
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