New York City has removed its very last payphone kiosk. Originally located at Seventh Avenue and 50th Street, the payphone was torn from the sidewalk on May 23, as a crowd of journalists and onlookers watched.

The phone immediately found a new home at the Museum of the City of New York, where it is now part of an exhibition celebrating the city’s pre-digital era.

For decades, these coin-operated phones were essential for busy New Yorkers. They frequently experienced maintenance issues, vandalism and theft, meaning they were often broken.

MCNY curator Lilly Tuttle told Artnet News that “in terms of New York City history, payphones were incredibly important for communicating and staying connected in a really fast-paced city of pedestrians and dynamic street life.”

New York had about 30,000 payphones in the early 2000s. But over the past 7 years, that number quickly diminished as they have been replaced with LinkNYC kiosks. The new kiosks offer free WiFi and free calls, as well as screens that feature a rotating display of ads, artworks, NYC history, and current news. You can even use them to charge your phone.

The last payphone was installed at the entrance of the exhibit last week, titled “Analog City: NYC B.C. (Before Computers).”

Image from the Smithsonian Magazine