Talk about a relic from times gone by! We haven't seen a fire call box on a street corner since, well, forever.
It's probably appropriate that this piece of bygone Chicago, located at Broadway and Lawrence, is on the same block as four beautifully restored buildings from Uptown's glory days: the Riviera/BofA building, the Uptown Broadway Building, the Borders/Phoenix building, and Bridgeview Bank.
Now we have to wonder if the streetlight above it glows yellow.... just like our parents told us they used to, to signify there was a fire or police box there.
These are required outside of buildings with large occupancies such as a theatre, school, gym, hospital, etc. Look around. You will see them.
ReplyDeleteIndeed. I know there's one outside Metro and I've noticed them around other music venues I'm at frequently...
ReplyDeleteThey should also have them in these areas to call the CPD too...
ReplyDeleteI *think* these were inspired by the horrific Iroquois Theater fire in Chicago, 1903. The Oriental/Ford Theater sits on the spot now.
ReplyDeleteThese were one of the changes made to ensure that type of event would never happen again. You'll see these outside the other theaters in Chicago.
Not 100% sure, but fairly certain.