DC’s abandoned fire and police call boxes, explained

[@RealEngineering]

Ooooh I need to know how these worked.

[@deus_ex_machina_]

Real Engineering Didn't know you watched Vox. Although with the KZbin recommended system it makes sense.

[@jamesphelps3409]

Real Engineering same

[@briangarrow448]

Real Engineering I have an old Gamewell Fire Call box that has a bakeite phone inside.

[@gruffyddgozali]

Love your channel, any teaser for your new video... plane related perhaps😎

[@ridonculous8374]

always curious

[@supitschillbro]

I'm so glad I'm watching this video about a no longer used call box in a city I don't live in made by somebody I don't know while I should be sleeping. Thanks Vox.

[@lucegoose]

Unfinished Sentenc i bet you're so glad you wrote that comment while you were supposed to be sleeping

[@jensjensen9035]

Unfinished Sentenc in a continent I have never been in*

[@DRSDavidSoft]

I'm glad to be reading a comment who someone I don't know wrote about a video that I can relate to him.

[@celebrityrog]

We have these in SF and they're being removed. Stupid idea to remove them since our cellular telephone system does down regularly in earthquakes as do most landline systems since they're on poles that fall in quakes. These are VITAL in a city prone to earthquakes, fires and road blocks that occur regularly. When the phones go down, we need these more than ever.

[@lucasstuart-chilcote7069]

William Diaz they really are removing them in SF? Wow what a bummer. They are so unique and interesting. I go there every now and then from Antioch.

[@Apostate_ofmind]

If you can, please contact your local politician /branch of government to give voice to your complaint, we need more voice from the populace reaching the system.

[@Sara3346]

Well if you feel that way why don't you write to your mayor and ask the city to stop? Why not start a petition or something?

[@agirlwithdreams15]

William Diaz plus, its history!

[@mike_nolan]

@@Sara3346 lol

[@KevinTheVegan]

Honestly I think repurposing them with art looks beautiful...

[@Hanlb]

Kevin The Vegan You reposted in the wrong neighborhood.

[@yin6287]

Kevin The Vegan yep looks much better then get rid of it

[@yandan8]

Turn them into WiFi access points?

[@ms.watakamis947]

Techon - NBA Videos no they are still used in emergencys

[@coreosoy9568]

he is talking ab the ones in DC being used 4 art

[@wolf3755]

Yogi yeahhhh

[@aeyvan]

1) phones have data 2) no one's going to stay outdoors that long with a laptop 3) phones can be hotspots for said laptops 4) cost and maintenance isn't justified because of 1-3 Idk i could be wrong

[@saltysoysauce954]

@@aeyvan Data costs money though.

[@fumfig3262]

"Real old, even as old as the 1860s!!!" Meanwhile Europeans are like: my house is two hundred years older than that.

[@ruedelta]

Chinese: My tree is 1000 years older than that.

[@jeffsmithfpv]

Russian: My vodka is much older than that!

[@blinski1]

Of course, but you know, it's really much easier to tear down a little box on the street corner than house. This 150-yo boxes survided so many years, but each one of them could have been demolished by one goon in 15 minutes throug their history. This is something, in my opinion.

[@fumfig3262]

Its not that impressive sorry dude haha.

[@blinski1]

I know there are much more impressive things in the world, but for me the smaller and easier to be broken things are preserved, the more impressive their history is. Maybe that's just me.

[@briangarrow448]

I worked in a small logging town in Washington state and found one of these at a auction and bought it. It was a Gamewell Fire Call Box. In very bad shape and I cleaned it up and repainted it. Now it's my favorite oddity and has a place of honor in my home decor.

[@Salisbury2015]

Growing up in the DC area, I always wondered what those decayed metal boxes on street corners were for. Fascinating to learn of their real, though obsolete, use.

[@chopkins57]

I walk by these all the time in DC and genuinely never thought about what they might originally have been for! Thanks for the interesting background.

[@RamblinPhoenix]

I used to work in DC, it was amazing, you would walk by these and not notice them, they were background. Then when you finally noticed one, you realized they were everywhere. Then you would begin looking out for the ones that have been turned into real art pieces. Many rag on DC, but in these boxes you see an expression of local history and culture. They're wonderful.

[@PhillyNonSequitur]

Some were still in service in the late 1960s, early 1970s. I pulled the fire call box in front of my house when I was about 4 or 5 years old. The ringing was so loud. I covered my ears. By the time the firetruck got there, my grandmother had pulled me inside. I was punished for it. I think what DC is doing with the boxes is great!

[@nataliacloves]

Vox makes the best content out of information I never knew I needed to know.

[@_framedlife]

They can still be modernised. Use them for the city-wifi projects most of these cities are working on now and people will cherish them.

[@josephbennett3482]

New York must still use them because if you listen to the FDNY frequency on a scanner app or through the Broadcastify you can hear them dispatch box alarms.

[@HarriRobins]

Of course in England you'd get Police Call boxes in small, usually blue, boxes, which had the added purpose of locking criminals in whilst awaiting for police cars to arrive. Almost none of them survive as they were all taken down, apart from some for sentimental or BBC licensing reasons.

[@koushuu]

TARDIS!

[@dancingcarapace]

In small villages, where it’s harder for Police to reach people, and cell service can be poor, some of them still rely on their Police Telephone Boxes. And some have been repurposed, such as the Green Box in Sheffield, which is now a tourist information hub

[@Saratrooper]

That was an actually really cool video! Thanks, Vox!

[@peterw4910]

We have been doing something similar with the old red phoneboxes here in the UK. Many disused one have been turned into greenhouses, little neighbourhood libraries and even storage for difibrulators.

[@JohnnyKidder]

- Phelps, badge 1247. - How can I help Detective?

[@kenziebacklin11]

L.A Noire sweet

[@potatoman5933]

In L.A NOIRE you can see them on service and working and it looks great

[@shellsisacoolpear]

Hahaha my first thought. 🤣

[@isunlloaoll]

LA Noire! Anyone remember that great game, and the emergency boxes that you can use across the city?

[@chenjinnn]

ARVIN "Cole Phelps, Badge Twelve Forty Seven."

[@JakeCDahl]

In Phoenix, on mill avenue there are some old call boxes just like these. they are hollowed out and now are used as mini libraries. you take a book and replace it with another one. so the library is always changing.

[@bunnyyamor3154]

Jake Engdahl I live in Phx but never knew they were old call boxes. Very cool, though in my neighborhood (Roosevelt area) they have one that they must have built because it is way too big, and wooden lol

[@TrojanSteeler]

I love how vox can take the most useless-looking information and make it interesting/insightful

[@crewcutter2030]

Those boxes where ingenius and are ahead of its time.

[@InstrumentManiac]

Is that crosswalk at 2:42 going for 66 seconds??? Jesus would not want to be in a car at that intersection

[@joshuamg2578]

There are some that go for 80 sec

[@lobecosc]

I still have a red one on a street where my parents live. I remember looking in it all the time when I was younger when it still had the components for calling the fire department which was in walking distance. It's interesting to see what the boxes were used for and to know that other cities had them and still use them. Great video.

[@jonahladuke7607]

History is so amazing and beautiful They should keep them as a memory

[@dcseain]

The art project was such a wonderful use of them!

[@luxlisbon2727]

I live around DC so I go there a lot and always wondered what these were! Thanks!

[@Ilyta94]

That was really interesting. And great video production, too. Thank you!

[@GothGuy885]

have often seen these fire boxes in old movies, and wondered how they worked back then thanks 😀👍

[@kekkocheng]

So, what happened with the wire? Did they take that part too or just leave it like that for centuries just like those boxes?

[@Thumbsupurbum]

Well, removing the wires would have been harder and more expensive than removing the boxes. So yea, probably. I'm gonna guess most have been slowly removed over time as buildings and infrastructure was built.

[@leftyfourguns]

You'd have to tear up already laid sidewalks and streets to pull out the wiring. But the video also says some boxes are still in use because they operate on their own systems and aren't affected by downed power grids or cell phone towers

[@Ricokz]

They are in use in only some places, the rest have discontinued.

[@lobecosc]

I still live here. Trust me, they left it in place.

[@eduardoroca1991]

It would be interesting idea that after neighborhoods make artful renditions of the police and fire call boxes, we could retrofit them later to be able to transmit through that wire and maybe other stuff.

[@Huckleberry87]

That was awesome, even made me tear up. So cool that the telegraph system is still used in some cities.

[@mLswanson]

There are a lot of fascinating gems like this in DC! That's why I love this city!

[@colestevenosky7207]

I live near Pottsville, PA and they still have working fire boxes

[@spectacularspaghetti1849]

The reason i love Vox is because i learn things i didnt know i was interested in, all in one big entertaining way

[@daleykun]

"They're really old...some date back to the 1860's" Aww bless America. You'll have real history one day.

[@karlosbricks2413]

made my day, makes up for a bloody awful Christmas, thanks very much 25/12/'17 21:52 GMT

[@portal2kid]

Vox seems to make the best under 10 minute videos. Though CGP, WonderWhy, RLL, and Wendover, somehow make videos exactly as great as you do. Great videos Vox!

[@ChakatNightspark]

There are couple places that still have Fire boxes that are updated so ppl can pull them and get service. These have a camera inside so if it gets pulled it takes photo of person. to prevent false alarms. Its more or less like a Radio inside since it like just dials 911 dispatch. You pull handle down, it takes Photo of you, it dials 911, you talk to them for Help

[@Apostate_ofmind]

this is so impressive. I got a tear coming up

[@djlawlz4041]

I see these around Boston all the time. They aren’t on every block but there’s always one every few blocks (even in the suburbs). I think it’s *super* helpful! It’s disappointing they’d discontinue them.

[@7184-y4h]

Nice streak of wonderful episodes

[@JODRecaps]

1:33 dang it

[@areobatman2240]

marvellous. you really learn new things every day. thanks Vox!

[@michaelpreston233]

I saw them in D C ,they're eveywhere and nice to see.

[@bp4502]

I live 20 min away from DC and occasionally walk around. They look cool and I've actually seen one of the art box.

[@flyingpanhandle]

I do like 1860 being "really old", we've got royal mail post boxes older than that in the uk

[@vincentfox4929]

My house was made before the 1800s. Just recently finished taking out the old floorboards but the wooden foundation is still good.

[@Wangsters]

I am loving these Vox videos more and more everyday!

[@likespacee]

i actually live in dc so i love this stuff

[@th3wallac3s]

This is actually the most interesting thing I learned today. Pretty cool.

[@Tjerk176197]

man, stuff like this is really cool. make more videos like this Vox!

[@user-cu6ii3gv1x]

I've been to DC twice and I never noticed these!

[@lloydquinton1]

I like that "really old" dates back to the 1860s in America. Meanwhile my little English village dates back to at least the eleventh century.

[@bepitrumpet]

This is actually really cool.

[@rsociety2422]

I wish the today's world was so simple and artistic like it was in those days.

[@kstatedelta]

I'm such a history nerd/buff.....I'm so excited by this and I want to go out looking for some now....well once quarantine is over lol

[@sbekele8906]

I’ve lived in D.C. for years and always passed by them wondering what they were and no one could ever give me an answer so thanks Vox!

[@keeweefroot2692]

They keep these decorated now with paint. It's a really nice touch.

[@thedukeofswellington1827]

In the FDNY clip box numbers are still assigned to parts.of the city. Even here in Phila a "box" is a standard response 2 engines 2 ladders etc and then the number is assigned to a part of the city. So that part hasnt changed. My dad was retired PFD and we had a couple of old boxes and we put them back together. Miss that guy.

[@ZeroTwo-gd5nq]

1:10 I live in St. Louis and never knew my city had fire and police boxes until now.

[@outpostorange9580]

Glad they turned it into art and that some cities still use them with a telegraph

[@someguybreaks]

these were still operational into the late 70s. i was a dumb young lad at the time and pulled the one near my school more than once.

[@MrDPMan3000]

lol I've see these everyday for like my whole life, and I figured out what they were back when I was younger, but didn't know why they weren't removed. They looked ugly and were annoying to walk around, but that's changed and now they look nice and can sometimes tell a story of neighborhood. It's good that something was done with them instead of just leaving them.

[@mydaan1]

Americans: really old 1860. Europeans: really old about 700 to 1000

[@bebekdragon7604]

Imagine *Egypt*

[@laurent1144]

Y'all don't have call boxes older than 1860

[@keriezy]

This is so cool!!!! What a great video.

[@mymyrrah]

Saw these in a busy town book, and I wondered why they weren't in my town. A mystery finally solved!

[@VaslavTchitcherine1]

The cop in the cartoon Top Cat would always be using the police call box... this video reminded me of that.

[@Squaliebawse]

We have those things all over NYC, and most of them still work too. But the nyc ones fire and police are in the same box

[@Cfink2013]

Hershey, PA fire company still has a firebox on the outside of their station in that still works.

[@Zanytiger6]

This is really interesting!

[@pepealexandre]

Great piece, Vox.

[@alexrobinson7127]

nyc has a bunch of those too but, the ones in nyc have the fire & police department on the same call box

[@CpttCanada]

Very interesting video, thanks!

[@drizm9257]

sometimes i really want to explore abandoned places but then i remember that i sprint out of rooms after i turn the lights off😩

[@mayelact8139]

those look so rad!

[@RayRae559]

This was a very good watch.

[@Lkease]

My city still has a couple boxes around major buildings. Of course, they’ve been disconnected, but the remains were still there. Each box had a code for the station closest to it, kind of like a coordinate system. Say the box I pulled was #6. The nearest station’s horn would blow 6 times as soon as it was pulled. It was pretty neat. There’s still a box on the wall outside the main entrance to the high school where I go to now, as well as one outside a telephone pole at the middle school in the heart of the city. I’ve seen a few on telephone poles in neighborhoods, outside a few churches, and there used to be one in one of the parks in the city, but someone just recently took it out. They are cool little bits of history that have been forgotten in a dying coal town. I wish the city did more to protect them, but they can easily be vandalized.

[@DumbDumbMcgee]

Never noticed those things once after all the times I've been to DC.

[@M0NIB0N3]

We need these back

[@wii8]

in milwaukee they got a bunch of those things all over, but designed a little bit differently, and no one made art out of them.

[@OrganicGreens]

the map at 1:11 is for st.louis but I don't see these boxes in my city. Did the get rid of them or do i just not see em?

[@Bas_Lightyear]

James and the giant peach taught me what these were

[@chicee123]

This was really cool!

[@SocialistDistancing]

I had to use a fire box similar to those in the mid 80s. They haven't been gone that long.

[@massimookissed1023]

Top Cat kept his toothbrush & stuff in Officer Dibble's call box :)

[@monkeyneil578]

That is a really smart a clever idea, damn.

[@Splitwave-og4tc]

My grandfather made one with golf balls floating in gel. It's pretty cool.

[@DreamlandRoses]

I’m kinda mad that these people turned them into art, because using them for hurricanes and Earthquakes makes sorting out emergencies in those situations much more easier

[@kd1s]

And in places where public phones one existed on the street I've seen them turned into art projects here in Providence, RI.

[@cyberneticwarmachine]

The phone box in Top cat makes so much sense now

[@boy638]

0:47 the original GoPro kids

[@alangee2200]

I live in the UK. Same issue with our red telephone boxes - no longer used since mobile phones. What we did & our still doing with them is painting them green & putting defibrillators in them 🚑 The defibrillators are locked 🔒 in a case. When you dial ‘999’ / ‘112’ (our equivalent to 🇺🇸 911) the Ambulance Control Officer will give you the unlock code. Other red telephone boxes are often ‘libraries’ with books 📚

[@mb013962]

Two videos about Washington DC in two days, interesting

[@shotsgotaim1855]

Matthew Bacchus lol noticed that too😂

[@burymeinqueens]

Vox's headquarters is in DC, with a secondary office in NY and I think two other cities. It's just a simple video they made from home is all.

[@jaysvideos8]

This does seem like something that a small team made in a day or two, and the credits only list three people who worked on it.

[@jamesmillington4711]

Funny, in new zealand or at least the city that i live in, people have painted on the electrical transformers on the sides of the roads. And some of them look really cool.

[@supersimmer7217]

POLICE TELEPHONE BOX?? You mean: tardis

[@peterterrathehinducommunis179]

Esther Parker yeah!!

[@milkproductions8127]

The only people who knew this before you uploaded were LA Noire fans.

[@ctoacu6188]

I've gotten a good look at these boxes while in D.C. Cause the traffic never moves...

[@feketetv]

I love when you make vids like this

[@jupitired777]

this is actually really cool

[@blackflagqwerty]

I saw these in L.A Noire!

[@thesevgf8569]

LA Noire taught me about them