rare and seldom found vintage industrial reinforced cast aluminum city of chicago police call box, possibly fabricated by gamewell. the call box contains the traditional pedimented top with single hinged lockable door. the original direct line telephone was removed long ago. retains the original green paint finish. the embossed lettering found along the door is finished in white. the first police telephone was installed in albany, new york in 1877, one year after alexander graham bell invented the device. call boxes for use by both police and members of the public were first installed in washington, dc in 1883; chicago and detroit installed police call boxes in 1884, and in 1885 boston followed suit. these were direct line telephones placed on a post which could often be accessed by a key or breaking a glass panel. in chicago, the telephones were restricted to police use, but the boxes also contained a dial mechanism which members of the public could use to signal different types of alarms: there were eleven signals, including "police wagon required", "thieves", "forgers", "murder", "accident", "fire" and "drunkard." measures 12 1/2 x 6 1/2 x 17 inches.