NEW York City’s fire alarms evolved greatly over the nearly 125 years they have been street corner staples. They seem to be the one Beaux Arts designed street fixtures that have survived relentless modernization over the years, and many fire alarms from the 1910s, recognizable by the sculpted torch on top that resemble ice cream cones, are still in place. In the 1950s, a more oblong, unadorned rectangular version appeared, and the “head” of these devices, with the actual alarm, are also mounted on telephone poles and some lampposts around town. All those fire alarm designs were painted bright red.
In the 1970s, a new design appeared that did away with the alarm pull handle that had been part of previous designs, replacing them with buttons that would connect you to the FDNY or NYPD. (There had been separate “call boxes” for the police around town, but those have disappeared.) I remember the Knicks’ Walt Frazier filmed a PSA commercial on how to use these when they first appeared.
The new 1970s design never fully caught on. Most have a shiny metal exterior, aluminum or stainless steel. However, this one on Roosevelt Avenue in Flushing had been attacked by graffitists and was then painted over in gray. In most cases, fire alarms have been replaced by pressing the 911 buttons on your cell phones, but the city still dutifully maintains fire call boxes on every other corner, just in case.
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8/25/25
4 comments
I think the blue police call boxes weren’t for use by the general public. I heard they were for cops on the beat to call the precinct before radios became common.
That is correct.
I have heard that the city still has these boxes because the workers who operate and maintain them are in the union. Perish the thought that the city should ever say No to a union.
Richmond Ave south of Victory Blvd in Staten Island still had a few of these that were added when the street was widened circa 1971-72. They pretty much vanished about 10-15 years ago.