Directions C.2009 Hollywood, CA
I was hesitant to post this picture. I was trying to reserve this little outlet of mine strictly to 35mm prints. After some thought, I’ve realized if these entries are about my findings while walking through this city, then I have to be ready to share what I’ve captured with whatever I have on me at that moment.
There’s no denying the advantages modern day technology. While there may be a fine line between technological usefulness and uselessness for certain things, I can appreciate the capabilities of our “essential” items, such as cameras and the Internet on mobile phones. Just yesterday one of these features helped me find the one public library in the entire city that had the book I wanted to check out; Istanbul to Cairo on a shoestring.
One of these features also allowed me to capture something that would break my three-month absence from this site.
Upon entrance into the Los Feliz Public library I noticed a piece of paper practically laminated over the center of a payphone.
“Not In Service
Please use the telephone at 2000 Hillhurst Av.
On the northeast corner of Finley Av.
2 blocks north of the library.”
Gutted payphones are becoming commonplace. That’s been my own observation since I started my mad hunt (or obsession) particularly in the last two years. However, this was the first time that I had seen a notice of any kind on a debunked phone. This was also the first time I had seen posted directions to the nearest working phone. I’ve seen notices on newspaper stands and mailboxes but never on a phone.
Why was this odd to me? Of the payphones that are out there in the streets of L.A., its usually quite obvious if they’re working or not… the phones are physically there or physically gone. In my fairly recent encounters with payphones, there hasn’t been a “middle ground”. The payphone at the Los Feliz library is an example of the middle ground.
In my quest to collect the city’s dying communication portal, I suppose its time to acknowledge my preexisting archived digital images…
Upon entrance into the Los Feliz Public library I noticed a piece of paper practically laminated over the center of a payphone.
“Not In Service
Please use the telephone at 2000 Hillhurst Av.
On the northeast corner of Finley Av.
2 blocks north of the library.”
Gutted payphones are becoming commonplace. That’s been my own observation since I started my mad hunt (or obsession) particularly in the last two years. However, this was the first time that I had seen a notice of any kind on a debunked phone. This was also the first time I had seen posted directions to the nearest working phone. I’ve seen notices on newspaper stands and mailboxes but never on a phone.
Why was this odd to me? Of the payphones that are out there in the streets of L.A., its usually quite obvious if they’re working or not… the phones are physically there or physically gone. In my fairly recent encounters with payphones, there hasn’t been a “middle ground”. The payphone at the Los Feliz library is an example of the middle ground.
In my quest to collect the city’s dying communication portal, I suppose its time to acknowledge my preexisting archived digital images…
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