April 1988 Fire Alarm and Police Call Boxes

In 1851, the city of Boston voted to award a contract to install a central alarm office with 45 alarm boxes and the apparatus for striking signals on the 16 city bells. The following year, the new fire alarm telegraph system was inaugurated.

In the first boxes, a notched code wheel was turned by a hand crank in front of the box. This soon gave way to a spring driven clock work type mechanism to drive the code wheel when actuated by a lever. If the lever was pulled more than once, an incorrect signal would result.

As the systems expanded another problem arose. When two or more boxes on the same circuit were pulled, they interfered with each other's signals, causing a jumbled alarm. To better solve the problem, a successive box movement was developed where the alarm from one box on a circuit would be allowed to finish before another box on the circuit could send its signal.

The original hand-cranked boxes gave way to boxes locked with a key, which was issued to Policemen, responsible citizens or kept on the side of the box. In 1900, the Gamewell Company's Cole Keyguard appeared with the instructions "break glass, open door, pull handle down once, let go." In 1922 a quick action door was made available, replacing the Cole Keyguard. Many of the fire alarm boxes in service today are of this type.

Fire alarm box made by Superior American Fire Alarm & Signal Co.

A Gamewell "cottage style" fire alarm box made in New York

After World War II, telephone alarm boxes began to appear with a direct phone to fire headquarters inside. Fire alarm boxes are wired to an indicator which is an electro-magnetic device hung on the wall in the firehouse. Revolving number wheels turn to indicate the number of a fire alarm box when the alarm was activated.

Another New York made Gamewell "cottage style."
Note the Game well logo (clenched fist with lightning bolts)
compared to the logo in the fire alarm box in the picture above.

There are a few varieties. One type just indicates the number of the box, another includes a bell which rings out the number being displayed, while a third just rings a notifier bell telling you to check the indicator for the box number. In most cases, indicators were found in cities which had many alarm boxes. They ranged in size up to 3 feet long with ornate wooden cases. On the wall of the firehouse was placed a framed listing of box numbers and street locations.

Gamewell Fire Alarm Box with missing Cole Keyguard	Gamewell Fire Alarm Box (new Style) made in Newton, Massachusetts
*Gamewell Fire Alarm Box with quick action door. Made in Newton, Massachusetts*
*Gamewell Fire Alarm Box, Gamewell Indicator and Gamewell Fire Alarm register at the Fire Station at Rutland, Vermont*

There were a number of manufacturers of the fire alarm boxes, but the products of the Gamewell Company predominated. The Superior American Fire Alarm & Signal Company manufactured fire alarm boxes that looked very much like the ones made by Gamewell. Outside cases of alarm boxes were made of cast iron until 1928. Thereafter they were made mostly of cast aluminum. Some of the early Gamewell fire alarm boxes had the date of manufacture cast into the box above the door.

This 14" x 20" metal sign hung for many years in front of the
Paterson, New Jersey Fire Alarm Telegraph Office

Fire alarm boxes are fast disappearing all over the country. Many cities and towns are completely doing away with them or switching over to radio transmitted boxes, eliminating the need to run wire from the box to the alarm office.

Police call boxes come in a variety of sizes, shapes and weights. Generally speaking they are very heavy, but a very unusual and interesting item. The purpose of the police call box system was to allow the patrolman on the beat to contact his headquarters with greater ease. These fine old police relics are gradually being phased out in most metropolitan police forces and completely replaced by radio.

The Gamewell Company was one of the early manufacturers of police call boxes. It was the Chicago Police who pioneered the police signal system in 1881 and by the late 1880's most large cities were adopting this system of communication. Boston chose the Municipal Police Signal System in 1888. Atlanta had their first call box system in 1891.

One of the early Chicago boxes was a large heavy box with a peaked roof, made of cast iron' and later in cast aluminum. On front of the peak it had a logo of jagged streaks of lightning surrounding a star. The box was marked "Police Patrol Station," had a number in the center and was further marked "The Police Telephone and Signal Co.-- Chicago." Another large box used by the Chicago Police was the same design but was marked "Police Patrol Station -- Department of Electricity -- Chicago." The most popular boxes used in Chicago were a somewhat smaller size (17" high, 10-3/4" wide and 5-1/4" deep). It had the same peaked roof, either of cast iron or aluminum, and was simply marked "Chicago Police" in raised lettering. Some of the old boxes used in the east were of a different design, somewhat rectangular with round corners and marked "Police Patrol Box" and the name "Gamewell."

The Tucson Police Department also used the same design box with the Gamewell name and logo, marked "Police Telegraph." Another style used by various police departments was oval in shape and marked "Bell System." They all are equipped with various styles of telephones. The lines from both Police and Fire boxes shared space on utility poles with power and telephone lines. The city of Fall River, Massachusetts, had insulators made on special order for their police and fire telegraph systems. They are the CD 133 CITY FIRE ALARM and the CD 134 FALL RIVER POLICE SIGNAL.

FIREHOUSE COLLECTIBLES, by Mary Jane and James Piatti. Published by Marvin H. Cohen and The Engine House Publishing Company of Middletown, New York

POLICE RELICS, by George E. Virgines. Published by Collector Books, P.O. Box 3009, Paducah, Kentucky 42001

Police Call Box on a street corner in Schenectady, New York

Gamewell Police Call Box