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These 5,000 Payphones Will Transport You Back To NYC In 1993
By
Jen Carlson
Published Mar 25, 2013
Modified Mar 25, 2013
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Mar 25, 2013
Modified Mar 25, 2013
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5000 payphones in Manhattan have been given a new life with an amazing project that will transport anyone who picks up the receiver back to 1993. In conjunction with the current exhibit at the New Museum, the "Recalling 1993" project brings prerecorded messages to the payphones. The messages deliver an oral history of the neighborhood you're standing in during that year.
One of the organizers of the pro-bono project tells us it "turns every Manhattan pay phone—from Inwood to the Financial District—into geo-located time capsules from 1993 featuring hundreds of never-been-told stories and memories from WNYC’s Brian Lehrer, the Village Voice’s Michael Musto, CUNY’s Suzanne Wasserman, Mario Batali, Chazz Palminteri, Fern Mallis, Doug E. Doug, Robin Byrd, James St. James and many more."
To access the nostalgia trip, you just have to deal the toll-free number: 1-855-FOR-1993 from any Manhattan pay phone. You'll then hear "hyper-local, personal accounts—from memories of the World Trade Center bombing in the Financial District to the club culture at Limelight in Chelsea to the opening of Angels in America in Midtown." When we called this number from our phone, Speed Levitch told us to "get off the cell phone you're calling from, find a street corner, pick up the first payphone you lay your eyes on," and dial the number to find out "what is was like to be a real New Yorker in 1993."
There is 4.5 hours of recorded content, and you can hear a sample here.
Tagged
1990s
1993
new museum
payphone
payphones
recalling 1993
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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