With the national focus on the war effort in 1941, new housing developments sprang up around defense plants and military camps. With no regular telephone service available for these new communities, the demand quickly grew for some form of 24-hour communication.

Left – The first outdoor telephone booth.
Right – The No.9 Outdoor booth, introduced in 1944.

As a result, the outdoor telephone booth, already popular in the United Kingdom, makes its Canadian debut in June 1944. These are makeshift, indoor booths enclosed in specially constructed shelters. But what had begun as an emergency measure proved so successful that, by 1945, the outdoor telephone booth became a permanent feature on the landscape.

 

Left – The Aluminum « Airlight » Outdoor Booth, introduced in 1962.
Center – The outdoor booth of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s became a trendy affair.
Right – Outdoor public telephone booth introduced in 1983.Outdoor booth advertisements from the 1940’s to the 1990’s.