The classic British red phone box, otherwise known as Kiosk no.6 (K6), has turned 75.
The K6, now synonymous with street life across the UK, was born in 1936, in celebration of the Silver Jubilee of the coronation of King George V.
It was designed by English architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, who also created the phone box’s predecessor, the K2.
Sir Giles was responsible for designing a host of other British landmarks in his time, including the Bankside Power Station, which is now the Tate Modern.
In its early life, the phone boxes were installed in every town or village with a post box, leading to 8,000 installations in 1936. By the end of production in 1968, there were almost 70,000 across Britain.
Many areas did not approve of the red hue and so chose to repaint them. Today, a number of dark green and grey phone boxes can be found scattered across Britain.
The K6, despite being so entrenched in the imaginations of British citizens, has faced tough times over the past 75 years. Although it was able to stick around following the introduction of the K7 and K8 designs, thousands were sold off in public auctions after the KX series started to take over the landscape.
However, thanks to efforts from the Department of the Environment, English Heritage and BT, many red kiosks were saved.
Now, 11,000 remain. Yet the demise of the red phone box is imminent, soon to become a relic of British society in the 1900s. Payphone calls in the UK have dropped by more than 80 per cent in the last five years and 64 per cent of phone boxes actually lose money. BT, now the owner of the K6 design, said it will continue to cull the kiosks to match demand.
In its eagerness to protect British heritage, BT has been pushing parish councils to adopt local phone booths and safeguard them for removal as part of the Adopt a Kiosk scheme.
Nevertheless, in the coming years, it's likely the only place where one will find the archetypal British phone box will be in museums.
This article originally appeared at itpro.co.uk
