In Takoma Park, Maryland, there’s an old pay phone that has been amusing the neighborhood for years at the corner of Flower and Erie avenues. Passing drivers might wonder why the outdated steel and plastic contraption is there.
A closer inspection reveals some peculiarities. First, the handset is painted yellow and a sign says “Bird Calls Phone.”
And then, “wooo-ooo w-wooo-ooo,” is what you’ll hear when you put the yellow handset to your ear — the distinctive call of the Mourning dove serves as the dial tone.
Press any button on the key pad and you’ll hear different bird calls: the cawing of a crow, the whistling of a Wood thrush or the chatter of the Belted kingfisher. Each bird call is accompanied by an authoritative voice giving the listener not just the identification of the bird but other salient facts.
“This is Washington, D.C.’s official bird … it’s a wood thrush,” the voice intones following the bird’s melodic song.
“It’s cute. Lots of fun bird calls. I see people bring their kids over to listen to it. It’s a fun thing to have in neighborhood for sure,” Takoma Park resident Jess Bieda said.
Bieda said the Bird Calls Phone was up and running when she moved into the neighborhood five years ago.
“Initially, I was surprised that there was a pay phone, so that intrigued me off the bat and I … went right up to it, tried to use it … and then I was greeted by the birds. So [that was] another surprise,” Bieda said.
It turns out the unusual phone is a public arts work, funded by the city of Takoma Park. It gets a lot of attention just outside the doorway of Mansa Kunda — a West African restaurant.
“It’s been known in the neighborhood for a while, because people bring their kids here. And I see babysitters here with the kids that they’re sitting,” Hatib Joof, who owns the restaurant, said.
Takoma Park is a unique city known for its liberal political activism, a self-declared nuclear-free-zone and a longtime supporter of public art.
“It is a place of its own. Takoma Park is one of the places in the U.S. that is very, very diverse … which was one of the reasons why I chose to open the restaurant here,” said Joof, who has been serving up the delicacies of Gambia and Senegal on Flower Avenue for more than five years.
The city has embellished the Bird Phone with banners and a wiry bird sculpture perched on top.
“I love Takoma (Park). I love how … friendly everyone is and … how passionate everyone is about different issues and how many artists and musicians and different creatives are around here. Speaking of art, there used to be a crocheted octopus on the clock tower, which was really fun,” Bieda said.
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