Once upon a time, there was a phone booth way out in the middle of the Mojave Desert, with no one around for miles. The booth was lonely, so people from around the world called it, and people would trek out there to answer.
Believe it or not, we went out there a few times to spend a few hours answering phone calls, mainly from England and Germany, where it was late at night. They asked: Were we really out in the middle of the desert? Really far out in the desert, miles from civilization? Was it really hot? And why were we out there answering calls? That last one was a good question.
Taking calls
The phone booth was originally built in 1948 to provide telephone service to local residents and ranchers in the area. Sadly, the NPS removed the phone booth on May 17, 2000. My photos are from just before it was removed.
If you want to learn more about the story of the Loneliest Phone Booth. Check out the site that started it all: The Deuce of Clubs. Doc has even written a book on it! (For reals!)
The number, +1-760-733-9969, is still active. It rings to a public conference call where anyone can join in and chat.
The Mojave Phone Booth was located at 35.2858°, -115.6844°. It is in the Mojave Cinder Cones, not far from Cima and Baker, in the Mojave Preserve.
