A novel, candy-apple red addition to the Municipality of Brighton’s downtown main street is attracting the attention of residents and tourists alike.
Brighton has installed a British-style telephone box on Main Street (Highway 2).
The booth, placed in time for the summer tourism season, serves as an information hub for visitors and is already proving to be both a conversation piece and a picturesque backdrop for photos in the town’s charming and historic core.
“The booth will be used as a self-serve tourism information booth or kiosk,” Ben Hagerman, Brighton’s manager of economic development and communications, told kawarthaNOW. “There will be information on Brighton and the region, promoting things to do, eateries, and local retail.”
The phone booth hails from a private residence in Brighton.
“When the resident was preparing to sell and move (the booth), they reached out to me and asked if the municipality would be interested in purchasing it and moving it,” Municipality of Brighton Mayor Brian Ostrander told kawarthaNOW.
“I didn’t think that the taxpayer should be making that kind of purchase, so I asked a few local businesses if they would be interested in making the purchase and donating the phone box to the municipality. We were fortunate to have a partner in Mistral Developments for this project.”
Municipal employees moved the phone booth and spent some time refurbishing it to get it ready for its new home. The booth was installed before the first long weekend of summer.
Municipal staff are refilling the box twice a week with tourist information as there has been “a steady influx in interest as the summer moves along,” Hagerman noted.
“Visitors and residents alike are using it for photo opportunities and the comments on (social media) have been extremely positive and supportive.”
The eye-catching booth fits in well with the increased push to shop locally, particularly given the current economy and ongoing international trade war.
“We always want folks to support their local shops and services,” Ostrander said. “Given the precarious economic times we find ourselves in, it’s even more important to do so in order to support our local economy.”
On Facebook, Ostrander also said the phone booth “symbolizes our connection to our namesake in Great Britain,” referring to the seaside resort in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England.
Visitors can find the phone box on the north side of Main Street (Highway 2), just west of Young Street (County Road 30).
