Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Midtown, 35th Street at Sixth Avenue


Mary Sargent © 2006 ………………………….. click to enlarge

This is the end of 35th Street at Sixth Avenue, where it gets much more crowded.

When I moved to New York in 1982, I was amazed at the use of pay phones here. In Illinois and Michigan, we used pay phones to tell someone something important that had to be said at that moment. I drove the car into a ditch, come get me, is an example. But here, people would get on the phone and say things like, so how's it going? They stood in lines to get the phone. I remember going into the subway and seeing a girl on the phone arguing with her boyfriend, tears streaming down her face. Later, when the price went up to a quarter (this sure sounds quaint), I predicted usage would drop sharply. No way.

But now you may be looking at one of the last documented uses of a black pay phone.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

ces téléphones sont bien pratique. A ma grande surprise à NYC ils sont respectés, en France pas mal sont cassés.
Quand je vais à New York, je téléphone d'une cabine se trouvant à 'Times Square' en face d'une Webcam, comme cela en même temps je fais coucou.
Désolé je suis bavard.
J'aime vraiment beaucoup ta ballade dans NYC, je m'y vois....

these telephones are quite practical. With my great surprise with NYC they are respected, in France not badly are broken.
When I go to New York, I phone of a cabin being in “Times Square” opposite Webcam, as that at the same time I make 'Hello'.
Afflicted I am talkative.
I like really much your ballade in NYC, I see myself there….

Anonymous said...

Delightful commentary and context, and of course the phone and the lady using it are of the same vintage!