Some of D.C.’s Renovated Call Boxes Honor Women

By: Miriam Edelman

Do you ever walk by boxes on poles in Washington, D.C., and wonder what they are? Chances are you are seeing call boxes, which assisted with communication and were crucial for emergencies. At the peak, there were at least 1,500 call boxes in D.C.

Installed in the late 1800s, call boxes were linked to D.C.’s fire department (1860s) and then to its police (1880s). While fire call boxes were red and looked like small houses, police call boxes were blue and were rectangles with rounded corners. Both sets of boxes had numbers and were linked to map locations. The general public were allowed to use the fire call boxes to inform the fire department of a fire. In contrast, only police utilized the police call boxes, communicating about crimes and ask for help.

By approximately the late 1970’s/1980s, D.C.’s call boxes stopped being used, seemingly because of new and widespread technology, such as the new 911 system. Police used two-way radios more frequently, and phones became common in homes. D.C. abandoned call boxes as the city decided they were too expensive to maintain. While internal wires and mechanisms were disconnected and removed from call boxes, the large iron call boxes, which were too heavy to remove, stayed, rusting and deteriorating.

By the late 1990s, some members of the public thought that call boxes were eyesores. D.C. began to remove these historical relics. However, seeing the value of these boxes, neighborhood and historical associations lobbied to keep the boxes. D.C.’s government changed direction.

In 2000, D.C.’s government and Cultural Tourism, a non-profit organization, created “Art on Call” to turn the call boxes into public art. This program encouraged local artists to make the boxes icons. The District Department of Transportation stripped lead paint from at least 700 call boxes and primed them. Between 2000 to 2009, 145 call boxes in D.C. were renovated. Neighborhood organizations restored their call boxes. A list of some renovated call boxes is at https://www.hmdb.org/results.asp?Search=Series&SeriesID=448 although some call boxes continue to rust.

In Chevy Chase, the Chevy Chase Community Association (CCCA), Historic Chevy Chase D.C., and Ch/Art collaborated on renovating call boxes. In 2022, the CCA described this project:

“CCCA, HCCDC and Ch/Art are working together to restore what many consider to be an eyesore into something we could be proud of and point to during history walks, art walks, visiting businesses, or just strolling in the neighborhood. We have nine call boxes in the immediate vicinity of the Connecticut Avenue business district.”

“Our plan is to review the structural integrity of the call boxes and restore the steel to good condition. We will then add art to them. Each box will be privately funded, and a plaque of the funders will be attached to the finished box.”

In 2022, Historic Chevy Chase DC started to restore Chevy Chase’s call boxes.

Many renovated call boxes honor and/or were designed by women. In 2019, DowntownDC transformed eight call boxes into art, honoring D.C. Statehood Party co-founder Josephine Butler; The Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham; “Battle Hymn of the Republic” lyricist, American Woman’s Suffrage Association co-founder, and abolitionist Julia Ward Howe; suffragist and National Woman’s Party leader Alice Stokes Paul; and other prominent women. Another renovated call box honors Grammy-winning musician Roberta Flack. A renovated call box at Jocelyn and 32^nd Streets , N.W. honors Vera Rubin, who is referred to as the “Mother of Dark Matter” for seeing the first real evidence of dark matter. Call boxes in the D.C.’s Golden Triangle have nature-related art, which was designed by local artist Jennifer Brewer Stone.

Let’s honor even more women when renovating call boxes. Future honorees could include some of D.C.’s female elected officials.