The British are the first in the world installed phone booths on the streets of their cities. The prototypes are public phone booths appeared in Britain in 1884, eight years after the Scotsman Alexander Graham bell invented the telephone.
First, "public calls" were in stores and calling on buyers was separated only by a curtain. It was uncomfortable, because the talks could be listening, and two hours. It was decided to bring the phones to the streets and put them in wooden boxes.
In 1912, the Automobile Association put their phone kiosks along the roads. The driver who has a problem in the car, could have called AAA.
In 1924, the government arranged a competition for the best sample of telephone kiosk. The winner was the architect Giles Gilbert Scott. Known for his other projects included in the history: the Cathedral in Liverpool, power station on the river Thames in Central London and the building of the library at Cambridge University. The material used was cast iron and thick trickled down. Scott offered to paint beeches in silver color, but the post office chose the colour red as the red phone booths can easily be seen even in cloudy English weather.
Red phone booths installed not only throughout the United Kingdom and its colonies (in India. Malaya), but also in friendly countries, for example, in Portugal. It served as a reminder of the unity of the United Kingdom and its overseas possessions.
Unfortunately, red telephone booths can fade in the near future. Five years ago in the country there were more than 150 thousand, and now there are only 13 thousand. In an era of high technology people prefer mobile communication.
In their defence was made by the Lord mayor of London, historians and architects. Thanks to their efforts, about 2,500 booths was included in the list of monuments protected by the state.
In 2007, residents of England were asked to choose the main national symbols associated with their state in the world. The honorable first place, the British took the red phone booth!
At first glance it's just a red box, but essentially it was like red buses, London taxis, the helmet English Bobby and the red mailbox, an icon, a symbol of great Britain and a Testament to the achievements of the country in the period from mid-XIX to mid XX centuries.