Telephone kiosk
A telephone kiosk is a type of small structure in Denmark that is considered a forerunner of the telephone booth .
history
On September 3, 1895, the Kjøbenhavns Telefonkiosker S / A was founded by a resolution of the Copenhagen City Council (Københavns Kommune) . It received the concession to build and operate telephone kiosks in the city for 15 years. At that time there were only 4,000 private telephone lines in the capital.
The architect Fritz Koch was chosen to design the telephone kiosk. The first telephone kiosks in Denmark were set up on the busy streets and squares of Copenhagen. The first seven telephone kiosks went into operation in 1896.
The small, solidly built houses were hexagonal, around nine meters high and had a copper roof and a lantern-shaped clock with dials on top. The sides and backs were rented out as advertising space. One side was open to customer access.
From 1929, the Koch version was expanded to include new, somewhat larger, telephone kiosks designed by the city architect Jensen.
function
In contrast to later telephone booths, a telephone kiosk was managed by one - mostly female - person. When a telephone customer came, the door was closed and after the end of the call the kiosk lady collected the fee.
The telephone kiosks were open in summer from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. and in winter from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., each had its own phone number and could be called from other telephone connections. The kiosk lady also accepted calls, wrote down the message and later handed the note over to the addressee or transmitted messages on behalf of the persons. The kiosk lady also had bike couriers who delivered or picked up the news. This method of sending or receiving messages was slightly faster than sending a letter, but it was also more expensive. In 1932 there were 30 such telephone kiosks in Copenhagen. Telephone kiosks were then also operated in other cities in Denmark, for example in Aarhus .
With the advent of modern phone booths, the staff-operated phone kiosks were abandoned in the 1950s. Some of the kiosks are still standing today and are protected as architectural monuments.
literature
- Christian Stampen, Københavns Telefonkiosker 1895-1945 , Politiken 1945.
- Karsten Skytte Jensen, "Telefoniens templer", Nørrebro Lokalhistoriske Forening. Årsskrift 2004 .
- Gunner Rasmussen, "En Århusbygning, der kom på museum: Århus' ældste telefonkiosk", Århus-Årbog , 1974, pp. 119–125.