Art on Call Project

Police and fire call boxes were installed throughout the capital starting in the 1860s. Although they became obsolete with the introduction of the 911 emergency call system in the 1970s, they remained on the streets.

Art on Call is a city-wide effort led by Cultural Tourism DC to restore Washington DC's abandoned police and fire call boxes as neighborhood artistic icons.

More than 20 neighborhood organizations are working on 301 call boxes as part of Art on Call. They have formed coalitions with residents and artists to propose, and then carry out, their ideas for refurbishing their neighborhood's call boxes.

Cultural Tourism DC and its partners have established a $250 matching grant for each proposal it approves. As of September 2005 $33,000 has been disbursed to fund 132 boxes. As of September 2005, 38 completed boxes were on view in Mount Pleasant, Capitol Hill, Dupont Circle, and Sheridan/Kalorama.

Art on Call is a project of Cultural Tourism DC in partnership with the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the District Department of Transportation, and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development.

For more information contact J. Brendan Meyer at BMeyer@CulturalTourismDC.org or 202-661-7581. Or visit Art on Call at Yahoo Groups.

The above photo was taken on 1 November 2006 at the corner First and N Streets, in SE, Washington DC which is directly across the street from the Washington Nationals (new) Stadium.

And in an attempt to preserve history, this particular call box which I have photograhed for several years, is a perfect canidate for the Art on Call Project. Three others of interest can be found at Half and M Streets, SW, and in the 1200 block of Delaware Avenue between M and N Streets, SW.