In a city that prides itself on progress, it’s rare to stumble upon a relic that feels like it’s been plucked straight from a different decade. But that’s exactly what happened when I found myself standing between a weathered air pump and the sign for a King Soopers gas station—staring at a fully intact public payphone.
Yes, a payphone. Red handset, coin slot, keypad, and all.
The blue enclosure, labeled “Wimactel,” looked like it hadn’t seen a quarter since the Bush administration. Yet there it stood, mounted on a concrete base surrounded by decorative rocks, as if waiting patiently for someone to dial home from 1997. Next to it, a metal box labeled “DEX” added a touch of mystery—perhaps a maintenance panel, or maybe something more clandestine. But for us, the time travelers from the last century, we know this “DEX” is the metal box that kept the phone book—before, well, the future came along. And the future was called Google…