Hung up for good: L.A.’s payphones fade into history

They were once everywhere. At gas stations, restaurants, sometimes just stand alone on the street corner.

Apart from utility, senders have played a role in American pop culture for decades, from comics (think Clark Kent to Superman) to music (think Maroon 5’s Brutal “Public Telephone” Or, from earlier, Jim Croce “Operator”).

About a decade ago, California had 27,000 senders, including 2,100 in Los Angeles County. Now, according to the California Public Utilities Commission, there are only 2,525 working public distributors left in the state. There are 484 in Los Angeles County. Los Angeles City has only 149.

Invoice phones are still available – they just don’t work. However, their reminder is when it is important to keep coins (with another relic of the past) in your pocket.

Juan Jacinto used his phone while selling clothes on Pico Boulevard.

Marjorie Vasquez, 17, and Brianna Mejia, 13, passed the broken Payphone.

Craig Fisher, 69, is waiting for a bus on West Boulevard and Slawson Street.

Haven’t used two senders in years.

Chicken may receive more attention than the listing phones near the markets on 41st Street and Central Avenue.

At the intersection of Olympic Boulevard and Vermont Avenue, only the sender’s shell remains.

Outside the downtown of Men’s Central Prison, some senders are still working, a man calls.

Scott Johnson, 55, walked along an art installation on a sender-inspired Robertson Bloulevard.

Juan Sanchez ignores the universal phone call. Roberto Ubeda cleans up the garbage.

The old-fashioned phone booth is part of Philippe’s charm, a restaurant on Alameda Street, founded in 1908.