Located on the grounds of the Montgomery County Airpark in Gaithersburg sits a piece of the past that refuses to fade away. Widely considered the last remaining full phone booth in Montgomery County, the glass-and-metal enclosure stands as a rare time capsule from an era before smartphones made pay phones nearly obsolete. A video of the booth can be seen below.
Unlike the stripped-down pedestal-style pay phones that still linger in a few scattered spots across the county, the Airpark booth is the classic full enclosure (only missing the folding bifold door). According to Cafe Sophie co-owner Sandy Poe, whose family has deep roots at the Airpark, the phone is still operational today. “So my curiosity got the best of me and I called one of my employees at the airport and ask them to check it,” Poe said. “They actually called me in my car on the line so yes it does work. It’s $.50 for four minutes or a local call my employee told me.”
For decades, the phone has remained more than just a relic. It has continued to function, long after most others across the county were removed or left unusable. Poe added that the booth has quietly remained part of daily life at the Airpark for decades, even serving as a regular stop for one familiar face. “We used to have a mailman that would use it every day around noon. We always wondered who he was talking to,”she said…