New York City expunged the last of its small slotted mailboxes that were mounted on lampposts or separate concrete posts several years ago, but Boston still has a few, or had in 2006, when I captured this one at Louisburg Square in Beacon Hill.
BOSTON MAILBOX
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I remember these from when I was a kid! My parents would lift me up so I could open the slot and drop the letter in. I think they were painted blee and red.
There’s one of these letterboxes in front of Claudio’s, in Greenport….Furthermore, it’s still in commission.
I remember these mailboxes! There was one on the corner of the block I used to live on – East 19th St. between Avenues N &O – at the corner of Avenue N and E. 19th St.
I clearly remember these mailboxes, as the door that covered the slot was a heavy cast arrangement that was hard for a small kid to pull down to drop a letter inside. Anyone who ever used one of these boxes will remember that the slot door gave a particular squeak when it was opened and closed. All the boxes made the same squeak. Also, most of the boxes were mounted on their own post, and not on a lamppost like the one shown. Those posts were cast concrete and were shaped like an obelisk. I last saw one of the obelisk-posts (without a mailbox attached) in Montauk last summer. While the discovery delighted me, it did not impress my family.
We had one on our corner in Flatbush growing up….It was put in as a prelude to a large regular box….I also remember when they picked up from that box as late as 8PM weekday evenings..That was the olden days…