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A blast from England's pastMar 25, 2012 (The Hawk Eye - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- In this modern age of social media and smart phones, pay phones are musty relics, and telephone booths are even harder to find. But there aren't many telephone booths like the bright red, 8-foot-tall phone kiosk that sits just inside the entrance of The Drake restaurant. Delivered straight from England, the 3-foot-by-3-foot phone booth looks like it was ripped straight out of an old British film. Or an "Austin Powers" movie. "It's a piece of work," said Sam Jennison, owner of The Drake. "It's an honest-to-God English phone booth." Advertisement Jennison just put the phone booth up last month, and it's already stirring discussion among his patrons. "People have been asking to have their picture taken in it, and we print it out for them," Jennison said. Made sometime in the 1940s, the K6 phone kiosk was located in Frogmore, England, a suburb in northwest London. In 1935, the K6 was designed to commemorate the silver jubilee of King George V. It was the first red telephone kiosk to be used extensively outside of London, and it soon became a British icon. Weighing about 1,700 pounds, the K6 was produced up until the 1960s. If you've ever watched a movie with a British setting, then you've likely seen the K6 phone kiosk. British Telecom is in the process of removing the obsolete relics of the past, but the municipalities are designating them as historic landmarks. Jennison came upon the chance to buy one from his friend, Russ Elrod, who lives in Arab, Ala. Elrod bought several of the phone booths directly from British Telecom and sold one to Jennison for the same amount he paid for it. "(Elrod) said, 'I think you need a telephone booth from England.' And I said, 'I think you're out of your damn mind,' " Jennison said with a laugh. But once he found out Elrod was serious, Jennison was happy to buy one for $2,500. It took another $500 to ship it, and he spent another couple thousand dollars restoring it to the bright-red color familiar to so many people. "It was banged up, because they had to take it apart to ship it over. So, we got it in pieces," Jennison said. The telephones booths rarely are seen outside of England, though you can find them in public places in cities such as Norman, Okla., Glenview, Ill., and Oxford, Miss. The golden crown above the door represents St. Edward's Crown -- one of the English crown jewels. Of course, now that people can stand inside the telephone booth and get their picture taken, they always ask Jennison when he's going to put a pay phone in there. It might be sooner than you think. "I would imagine if we get silly, we'll put a pay phone in it," Jennison said. If you're thinking of buying one for your own house, you might want to save up your pennies. Elrod sold his telephone booths for $7,000 apiece. ___ (c)2012 The Hawk Eye (Burlington, Iowa) Visit The Hawk Eye (Burlington, Iowa) at www.thehawkeye.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |