Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Street art in Cartagena.
Colombia • 10 days, 9 nights
Colombia Discovery: Coffee, Art & Music
from
Caucasus - Geghard Monastery, Armenia
Armenia • 15 days, 14 nights
Caucasus Road Trip: Azerbaijan, Georgia & Armenia
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Muc Lien’s 18 Gates of Hell.
Muc Lien's 18 Gates of Hell
Lighthouse and Museum of Jára Cimrman (Maják a muzeum Járy Cimrmana).
Lighthouse of Jára Cimrman
Markers honor 865 war dead.
Sovjet Ereveld (Soviet Field of Honor)
The intaglio leaves a subtle impression on the land along Riverside Drive in Fort Atkinson.
Panther Intaglio
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The sign declares this the number-one gumbo shop in town.
Gumbo Hut Shioya
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
USDA and Washington State agriculture officials tagged this Asian giant hornet. Sept. 10, 2021.
What Ever Happened to the Murder Hornets?
about 13 hours ago
The exterior of the Hall of Records.
Atlas Obscura Mailbag: Urban Exploration, Illegal Carvings, and Repeat Vacations
3 days ago
Biosphere 2 campus (2016)
Biosphere 2: How Volunteers Survived for 2 Years in an Airtight Habitat
3 days ago
Places like Forest Grove linger on the edge of wilderness and civilization.
Listening for Echoes of the Forest Grove Sound
3 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Connecticut Hartford Site of the First Public Pay Phone

Site of the First Public Pay Phone

An easy-to-miss plaque marks the building that first held this 19th-century telephone innovation.

Hartford, Connecticut

Added By
EB Savage
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
The commemorative plaque.   e1savage / Atlas Obscura User
The commemorative plaque.   e1savage / Atlas Obscura User
It’s easy to pass by the blue marker without realizing it.   Map Data © 2017 Google
The first payphone was installed in Hartford, Connecticut.   e1savage / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Though cell phones and other pocket technology have rendered public phones nearly obsolete, there was once a time when the classic pay phone was a novel, necessary invention.

William Gray invented the first pay phone in 1889. It was installed in a bank in Hartford, Connecticut. His innovation allowed everyday people who couldn’t afford their own phones to make business and personal calls.

Gray originally came up with the idea of a coin-operated public pay phone after he needed to call a doctor when his wife fell ill. At the time, owning a phone meant paying an expensive monthly fee, leaving only the well-to-do with access.

He couldn't afford to pay for an expensive monthly phone subscription, so he ran down to a local business and asked to use their phone, but they said no. He struggled to find anyone willing to let him use theirs. Gray, an inventor by trade, thought there must be a way to have a phone that people could use and pay for only when needed.

Gray’s pay phone concept would bring the telephone to the masses. In his obituary, the Hartford Courant said the pay phone was Gray’s “crowning invention” because of how it popularized the telephone and made it possible for anyone with a bit of pocket change to use a public phone without the aid of an attendant.

Though the original pay phone is no longer at the bank, you can find a plaque memorializing the innovation that transformed telephones from a luxury commodity into a necessity available to the masses.

Related Tags

Technology World's First Public Telephones Plaques

Know Before You Go

The small blue plaque is located about nine feet up on the Main Street side of the building near the corner of Main Street and Central Row. Parking is limited in the downtown area and it is all pay-to-park.

Community Contributors

Added By

e1savage

Edited By

Kerry Wolfe, Collector of Experiences, Calvin the Courageous

  • Kerry Wolfe
  • Collector of Experiences
  • Calvin the Courageous

Published

November 27, 2017

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.ctmq.org/site-of-worlds-first-pay-phone/
  • https://blog.retroplanet.com/public-telephone-history/
  • https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/first-and-last-pay-phone-180952727/
Site of the First Public Pay Phone
750 Main St
Hartford, Connecticut
United States
41.765364, -72.673041
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Museum of Natural and Other Curiosities

Hartford, Connecticut

miles away

Site of a Speech by Stephen A. Douglas

Hartford, Connecticut

miles away

Hartford Isle of Safety

Hartford, Connecticut

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Hartford

Hartford

Connecticut

Places 19
Stories 1

Nearby Places

Museum of Natural and Other Curiosities

Hartford, Connecticut

miles away

Site of a Speech by Stephen A. Douglas

Hartford, Connecticut

miles away

Hartford Isle of Safety

Hartford, Connecticut

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Hartford

Hartford

Connecticut

Places 19
Stories 1

Related Places

  • The project trailer, 1941.

    Schoharie, New York

    Site of the First Known Free Open-Air Motion Picture Presentation

    A tiny village in Upstate New York ushered in the precursor to drive-in movies.

  • Albuquerque, New Mexico

    Historic Microsoft Headquarters Plaque

    One of the world’s most powerful corporations was established on a random Albuquerque street corner.

  • Golden Gate Casino

    Las Vegas, Nevada

    The First Telephone in Las Vegas

    The so-called "Father of Las Vegas" had the city's first telephone installed in his office in 1907.

  • San Jose, California

    The Center of Santa Clara Valley

    A mysterious monument covered in a binary code marks the heart of tech.

  • San Jose, California

    Site of the World's First Radio Broadcasting Station

    Three plaques mark the spot where the "forgotten father of broadcasting" worked.

  • Hope Valley, England

    The Round Building

    This petite cutlery factory sits on the foundations of a defunct gasworks.

  • Museum ENTER.

    Solothurn, Switzerland

    Museum ENTER

    Its vast collection of wondrous gadgets details the fascinating history of information technology.

  • Salem, Massachusetts

    Lyceum Hall

    The lecture hall where Alexander Graham Bell first demonstrated the long-distance phone call.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.