Site: First K2 telephone boxes (1 memorial)
W1, Piccadilly, Royal Academy entrance archway
Two telephone boxes under the arch at the entrance to the courtyard. The box to the west (photographed) is the 1924 wooden prototype of Giles Gibert Scott's design which won the competition for a national standard design. See Soane's Tomb for his inspiration (he was a trustee of the Soane Museum). From 1926 as Kiosk number 2, 1,500 cast-iron kiosks of this design were installed across London, one being the other box under this arch, on the other side of the driveway. However it proved expensive and Scott was asked to design K3 as a cheaper kiosk for the rest of the country. Only the best for London. Details from Heritage Elettra. Sadly, the actual phones in both these boxes are a more recent design.
