Kevin

. Red Telephone Box 10°

Red telephone boxThe red telephone box, a public telephone kiosk designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, was a once familiar sight on the streets of the United Kingdom. It hasall but disappeared in recent years, replaced by a number of different designs. The few kiosks that remain have not been replaced because they are regarded as being of special architectural andhistorical interest.

The first standard public telephone kiosk introduced by the United Kingdom Post Office was produced by Somerville & Company in 1920 and was designated K1 (Kiosk no. 1). Thisdesign was not of the same family as the familiar red telephone boxes.

The red telephone box was the result of a competition in 1924 to design a new grander kiosk. The competition attracted designsfrom a number of noted architects. The Fine Arts Commission judged the competition and selected the design submitted by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott as the winner. The Post Office made a request that thematerial used for the design be changed from mild steel to cast iron, and that a slight modification be made to the door; after these changes, the design was designated K2. The kiosks were painted redwas so that they might be easily recognised from a distance by a person in an emergency. In some rural areas the boxes were painted green so as not to disrupt the natural beauty of the surroundings.From 1927 K2 was mainly deployed in and around London. K3 designed in 1930, again by Gilbert Scott was similar to K2 but was constructed from concrete and intended for rural areas. K4 (designed by thePost Office Engineering Department and proposed in 1923) incorporated a machine for buying postage stamps on the exterior. Only 50 kiosks of this design were built. K5 was a plywood constructionintroduced in 1934 and designed to be assembled and dismantled and used at exhibitions.

In 1935 K6 was designed to commemorate the silver jubilee of King George V K6 was the first standard telephone...