I remember there used to be pay phones at the entrance to Richwoods High School. And lots of pay phones at "the mall" (meaning Northwoods Mall).

@PeoriaChronicle : Bet there's no pay phones at that swanky new mall.

I toured the old Joliet State prison last year. It was really interesting and well worth the five dollars or whatever it cost to walk around (lots of Blues Brothers memorabilia available in the gift shop, btw). Among other things, I found bank of phones out in the yard to be particularly interesting.

When did it close, and why?

@DennisinPeoria :
It closed around 2002 due to state budget concerns. It's an OLD complex, probably 150 years old when it closed.

Great photos of the prison! I have this on my list of places to go. Had family nearby and for years I drove by the prison and appreciated the architecture.

Could them new citizens that the US has accepted turn this into a camp for now. Help them fix and build it up they came to work here and want freedom.

@tntrecycling : what

I think there is one hanging on the side of the Rob n' Shoot, er, I mean convenience store, at the corner of Frye and Prospect. Once again, if it works or not is another story. And I don't know why one would stand there for any length of time to make a phone call.

@SuzyH :
We have new arrivals from boarder. They want to work and prosper in the US that's what they came for.

Pay phones have been gone from a lot of places for a long time already. I remember taking the train home from California back in 2011, and because of the flooding of the Mississippi that year, our train was terminated in Kansas City. We had to take a bus (Peoria Charter Coach, as it turned out) back to Galesburg. The train station in Kansas City had already taken out all their pay phones, but the booths were still there. It was weird.