
Disconnected -- Old Hotel Switchboard at Bodie State Historic Park, California

by Darin Volpe
Title
Disconnected -- Old Hotel Switchboard at Bodie State Historic Park, California
Artist
Darin Volpe
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
"Operator, could you help me make this call?" From 1876 until the mid 20th century, telephone operators connected phone calls using patch cords on switchboards. Some were giant contraptions with dozens of operators working for the telephone company and others, like this one, were small units used in offices and hotels.
This switchboard is at the abandoned Wheaton & Hollis Hotel in the ghost town of Bodie, California. The town began as a mining camp after gold was discovered in 1859. It grew into a genuine wild-west boomtown in 1859 when a large deposit of gold ore was found. The boom ended in in the early 1900's and the town was abandoned in 1943. In 1961 it became a National Historic Landmark and then a State Historic Park in 1962.
Uploaded
October 27th, 2013
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