We are so lucky to have British history on display at Kentuck Knob in Southwestern, Pennsylvania!
Our iconic British Telephone Kiosks, known in the United Kingdom as Telephone Boxes are always a delightful surprise to visitors. Did you know that like the postboxes and busses were all painted red because it was thought to be the easiest color to notice at the time. Later it was proven that yellow is the first colour the human eye registers which is why taxi cabs were painted yellow instead of red!
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Lord Peter Palumbo acquired the kiosks along with the other eclectic pieces of the sculpture garden through private sales and auctions. As with all our sculptures these once functional, now forever preserved artworks are restored periodically to preserve them. First the paint is stripped back and we perform a deep clean. Then a metal base primer layer is applied, making them look ghostly! After a first and second coat it's sealed and ready.
The first standard public kiosks (K1) were introduced by the UK Post Office in 1921. The second and more popular model, K2, was designed by Sir Giles Scott. Scott won a contest commissioned by the Royal Fine Art Commission to have artists compete for a new telephone kiosk design. Sir Gilbert Scotts' artistic style could be defined as applying historical styles to modern industrial structures. His design was inspired by a mausoleum, in South London designed by Sir John Soane. There was also a K4 model which also featured a post box for small letters and stamp machines for purchase on the exterior.
Scott's design transformed the kiosk into a symbol of modern functionality with a traditional style. The cast iron material was painted with a bright red (different from Scott's original suggestion of blue/green) with pierced crowns on each side for ventilation. Four Telephone Kiosks are displayed near the Greenhouse Gift Shop at Kentuck Knob. There are two different models. The K2 model was exclusively in London. The kiosks that are displayed at Kentuck Knob were produced by the Carron Foundry in Stirlingshire, Scotland.
The K6 model (3 of which are situated near the entrance to the Woodland Walk sculpture trail) was introduced later in 1935. The K6 was designed to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of King George V, later being known as the "Jubilee Kiosk." The K6 is smaller than the K2 by 12 inches. The columns and numbers of doors and windows was also widened from the K2 model. The Crown motif that was previously pierced to allow ventilation, was embossed on the K6.
As technology advanced in the 21st century, the need for public telephones diminished. The telephone kiosks where repurposed as emergency storage for EEDs and also little free libraries.
