Fun_People Archive
23 May
Mojave Phone booth Removed!

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From: Peter Langston <psl>
Date: Tue, 23 May 100 12:45:49 -0700
To: Fun_People
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Subject: Mojave Phone booth Removed!

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From: Anne Merritt <amerritt@aracnet.com>

http://cnn.com/2000/US/05/22/lonely.phone.ap/index.html

Famous isolated phone booth removed

May 22, 2000
Web posted at: 5:26 PM EDT (2126 GMT)

BAKER, California (AP) -- The world's loneliest pay phone has rung for the
last time.

The phone booth had stood for decades in the middle of nowhere, deep within
the Mojave National Preserve. But Pacific Bell and the National Park Service
said they had to remove the phone Wednesday because it was attracting too
many curiosity-seekers.

"While the phone and its location proved to be a novelty for some in recent
months, the increased public traffic had a negative impact on the desert
environment in the nation's newest national park," they said in a statement.

The phone was installed in the 1960s for use by miners digging volcanic
cinder nearby.

The booth began attracting attention on the Internet about three years ago.

People routinely dialed the number from all over the world just to see if
someone would answer. Often someone did, usually passers-by who were equally
curious about who was on the other end.

Now all that remains of the booth is the concrete pad on which it stood.

© 2000 Peter Langston