
Long before I began documenting the
Historic Fire and Police Call Boxes in the
SWDC Neighborhood I had already recorded
call boxes in the
Downtown Circle,
Penn Quarter and Adams Morgan areas of NW WDC.
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 until the mid-80s.
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.
Armed with information provided to me by the SW Call Box Committee, in October 2007 I embarked on an historiographic project that would attempt to photograph all
boxes listed on the
SWDC Call Box Inventory.
When I heard news last week that the Southwest Neighborhood Assembly (SWNA) would launch its 11 April 2009 National Cherry Blossom Festival Fireworks Prelude activities with an
Unveiling Ceremony of Historic Call Box Art at the Disabled American Building ... in dedication to
DeAnthony Maurice Henson who was shot and killed three weeks after my
18 October 2007 documentation ... I made sure to document the
Unveiling Ceremony.
Click the above image to view the
11 April 2009 SWNA Historic Call Box Art Unveiling video. Which may also be found in the
Unveiling of SWDC Historic Call Box Art - DAV - Maine Avenue & 6th Street, SW, WDC - 11 April 2009 album.
And here are the photos of the
Unveiling Ceremony which preceeded the
Unveiling.