Is it possible to take something iconic and breathe new life into it? Apparently, yes. Britain is known the world over for the red telephone box. Tourists come from all over the world and are hard pressed to go home again without having their photos taken alongside these examples of historic technological wonder.

Plans for the telephone boxes go back as far as 1912 according to the website, The Telephone Box (1). After some delays and design failures, the 1920s saw the early versions of what we’ve all come to know and love since. The advent of mobile phone technology however has seen their usefulness decline over the years and in more recent years, decline dramatically. Although it would seem not everyone is ready and willing to let them fall by the wayside just yet.

In Knightsbridge, one of these old dogs has been taught a new trick, that of becoming a cash machine or ATM. Clearly, for some this might be seen as sacrilege. To take something that has such cultural significance and reduce it to a mere token device. But would it not be fair to suggest the public telephone was a token device in its own right? Its original purpose has been surpassed by new technology surrounded by a robust new industry. One that isn’t going to go away now or in the future. Is it not possible for museum pieces to have a functional purpose too?

1 http://www.the-telephone-box.co.uk/