Famous isolated phone booth removed

Monday, May 22, 2000 | 9:31 a.m.

The decades-old telephone booth with the shot-out windows became a worldwide curiosity in recent months because of its remote location deep in the Mojave National Preserve.

However, Pacific Bell and National Park officials said they had to remove the phone Wednesday because it attracted too many curiosity seekers.

Calls to the number - 760-733-9969 - were greeted with a busy signal Sunday.

"While the phone and its location proved to be a novelty for some in recent months, the increased public traffic had a negative impact on the desert environment in the nation's newest national park," Pacific Bell and the National Park Service said in a joint statement.

The booth, 75 miles southwest of the Nevada border, began attracting attention on the Internet about three years ago. International fame followed news reports this year about the pay phone located seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

People routinely called from all over the world just to see if someone would answer. Often someone did, usually passers-by who were equally curious about who was on the other end.

The phone was installed in the 1960s for use by volcanic cinder miners. Now all that remains of the booth is its cement foundation.

The few local residents who live in the area said they were saddened to see the landmark go.

Lorene Caffee, owner of the nearby Cima Cinder Mine, said she doubted phone booth visitors were disrupting the area.

"It stinks," she said. "Isn't that what a park is for - for people to visit?"