Its been a year since Bellsouth (er, SBC. Er, AT&T) and other phone companies got out of the payphone business, ripping their phones off walls and telephone poles. Its been even longer since telephone booths were ubiquitous. I recall the funny scene in Superman when Clark Kent races to the nearest payphone only to find it had no booth!
Nowadays people carry their phones with them. Geeks like me work in cubicles where every conversation is shared amongst coworkers. If you want to make a private call, you often have to take it outside. On days like this when its 25 degrees outside, that’s not very convenient.
I think for these reasons the phone booth might make a comeback. Put a few near your cube farm and not only will you make the caller happy, you’ll make all his or her coworkers happy, too, since they won’t have to be privy to the conversation. I’ve used the booths at bars such as the Carolina Ale House and 42nd Street Oyster Bar. They make it much easier to hear the call and keep the call from disturbing others.
Do any companies currently make phone booths?