Cities in California with Gamewell Systems

[daysleeper47]

The 'Gamewell' call-box system has been in use in Los Angeles for more than a century. Beginning in the 1890s, the boxes were utilized for hourly call-ins by officers in the field, who all had fixed posts or walked footbeats. Callboxes were located in all patrol divisions, usually installed at intersections where two or more beats met. When practical, boxes were located along Division boundaries for efficiency and economy.
Early on, the policeman would open the box and pull a handle to identify himself to the city operator downtown. If there were no calls for him, he would receive a 'two-bell' signal and be on his way. Three bells, however, meant there was a call for him; he would pick up the receiver and listen to a message telling him only to 'See the man (or woman),' and the location - nothing more.

Such cryptic information was certainly not conducive to officer safety! A young policeman from the early 1910-era later wrote that this practice added to his misgivings about his new career. 'It seemed to me the operator should have learned more, and the policeman answering the call should at least have some idea of what to expect. I had yet to learn that most police calls were brief and lacked detail. The important matter on any call was the address.1'  ( Nearly a hundred years later plenty of patrol officers have muttered the same complaint, though the operators and the equipment in use today are immeasurably better, and the information available by radio or MDT is tremendously improved ).

By about 1925, the system had been redesigned. There were over 500 callboxes throughout the city, each equipped with a Western Electric telephone handset, and they were now connected to the local Division station rather than to City Hall. At his appointed time each hour, the officer would pull a handle to identify his callbox to the Divisonal operator, and then give his name. If there were any calls or messages pending for him, they would be given, otherwise he would simply be 'marked off' as having called in for the hour, and would receive the two-bell 'you are clear' signal.

In the 1970s, the remaining private-circuit 'Gamewell' system was integrated into the city's 'Centrex' telephone system; the antiquated street-corner phone-sets were replaced with push-button phones, and the two plug-and-cord Gamewell consoles in Communications Division were removed.



Updated on 07/17/07 to remove non-functioning link.  Box 2565.

[Box 2565]

The City of Oakland, California used these boxes that are cast at the top: Oakland Electrical Dept.

They are certainly similar in style and size to a Gamewell box.  Can anyone supply additional information regarding these?  Were these boxes actually manufactured in Oakland?

[ashkicker28]

I don't know, but it's possible they had a local foundry pour them. I know that Chicago had their boxes poured for them, then they would use mechanisms from companies like Harrington, Harrington-Seaburg, or Gamewell. I'm not positive on the mechanisms they used. So don't quote me on that.  

[Box 2565]

I wonder if other towns had their own box castings made?  It would be interesting to know if they did.  There is another post here with an alarm box finial that was distinctive to Providence.  If they had finials cast, maybe they had boxes cast?

Here is an interior view of the Oakland box.

[Box 2565]

Information Copied From A Represenative List of Gamewell Installations in Canada as of 1941.      
   
If you can answer any of the following questions, please post a reply! Which towns still use their street box system? How many boxes are in the system and are gongs still used in the fire houses?  
   
If the system has been removed, when was the system discontinued? What became of the fire alarm boxes, registers, and gongs? Are any of these items still owned by the town where they could potentially be sold to collectors? Have any of the items been kept for display in a museum or station? Also, these are Gamewell installations only.  A town may have had an alarm system with equipment furnished by a different company.

California

Alameda
Albany
Alhambra
Antioch
Arcata
Auburn
Bakersfield
Barstow
Berkeley
Beverly Hills
Burlingame
Calexico
Chico  See Reply Below
Coalinga
Colton
Coronado
Corte Madera
Crockett
Culver City
Delano
Dunsmuir
El Centro
El Cerito
Emeryville
Eureka
Fairfax
Fontana
Fresno
Gilroy
Glendale  See Reply Below
Grass Valley
Hanford
Hayward
Hollister
Jackson
Larkspur
Lodi
Long Beach
Los Angeles
Los Gatos
Madera
Mariposa
Martinez
Marysville
Merced
Modesto
Monterey
Napa
Nevada City
Newport Beach
Oakland
Orange
Oroville
Palo Alto
Pasadena
Petaluma
Piedmont
Pittsburgh
Porterville
Redding
Red Bluff
Redwood City
Richmond
Riverside
Roseville
Ross-Harrington-Seaburg
Sacramento
Salinas
San Anselmo
San Bernardino  See Reply Below
San Diego
San Jose
San Luis Obispo
San Rafael
Santa Ana
Santa Barbara
Santa Clara
Santa Cruz
Santa Monica
Santa Rosa  See Reply Below
Sausalito
Sebastopol
Selma
Sonora
South San Francisco
Stockton  See Reply Below
Susanville
Taft
Tracy
Tulare
Vallejo
Venice
Vernon
Visalia
Watsonville
Westwood
Willows
Woodland
Yuba City  See Reply Below

[Box 2565]

These are e-mail replies which I received regarding the status of alarm systems in California.  

Santa Rosa
Our Gamewell system was discontinued many many years ago (before I joined the Department in 1985) and no boxes are available.  I do not know what became of the old boxes but there are none around.

Tony Pini
Fire Chief
Santa Rosa Fire Department
tpini@ci.santa-rosa.ca.us

Stockton
From an email received from Division Chief Carl Eck  

"The city of Stockton hasn't used that fire alarm system for many years. No one here remembers when it was taken out of service. As to the boxes themselves, they are long gone. The dept. has only one restored box in it's possession. And it is hanging on the wall of our office. Sorry."

Yuba City
We havent used this system for over 30 years. Have no idea what happened to the pieces or parts.

Capt. Garrett

San Bernardino
"We took out that system around 1983 and sold all the components"

Dennis Bickers S.B.F.D.

Chico
I am the Department Historian. The answer's to your questions are, our city discontinued the system in the late 1970's. The city of Chico sold the system in a surplus sale. A member of Chico Fire Department got the system and over the following years he sold every thing except what he wanted for his personal use. To my knowledge he has nothing left to sell. We have several alarm boxes on display at our Fire Stations and at our Fire Training Center we have a 16" Gamewell Bell and a Seth Thomas Clock that printed the time of the alarm. Chico's first gamewell system was made up of 25 Excelsior alarm boxes. We have 2 restored and on display. The secound GameWell System was made up of over 100 boxes made of aluminum. Nothing we have in our collection is for sale. Many of our Firefighters are collectors and are looking for parts to replace missing ones.

Dave Grimes
dgrimes@ci.chico.ca.us

Glendale
The GFD system is on display at the Hall of Flame in Phoenix, Arizona!

[Box 2565]

This Gamewell ad appeared in the November 1941 issue of Fire Engineering.

The Santa Monica F.D. had this interesting alarm equipment display.

[fyr1]

A fire alarm box from Oakland, Califorrnia.  Equiped with a 1922 style fast acting door and porcelain # plate.  The door is marked Gamewell but the   shell says Oakland Electrical Deptartment. I have seen these boxes with
Oakland marked doors as well. Cities typically mismatched parts, the only thing that mattered was the boxes operation . FDNY was great at this :!:

[District5]

Box 1458 8th & Mateo Sts

This is a 1949 running card for the City of Los Angeles. There are several interesting features about this card.

First, the LAFD was one of the earliest departments to designate all of the companies in a station with the same number (notice that there is an engine, truck, and salvage 24 & 28 on the card).

Second is the fact that Los Angeles had department staffed salvage companies that are on the card.

The last thing that grabbed my attention is that only one battalion chief is assigned! Certainly there must have been other chiefs coming in on multiple alarms?

[Box 2565]

According to the department history, Carmichael also used a Gamewell alarm system.

"To notify volunteer or off-duty personnel, Carmichael utilized a component of the Gamewell System, that being an Air Horn. Each intersection within the Districts 18 square mile response area had a signal associated with it, as did each of the 19 alarm boxes located throughout the District. When an alarm was sounded the horn activated a number of long and/or short blasts. Counting each blast and its duration would identify the closest intersection to the fire call. Stations 1 and 2 were equipped with such a device for notification purposes so as to cover the entire District. This system of notification was upgraded with the installation of a siren in Carmichael Park. The siren was completely installed by firemen working both on and off-duty. The siren could be heard from any location of the District, and was utilized in conjunction with newly purchased radio monitors."

http://www.smfd.ca.gov/carmichael.htm

[District5]

Sacramento To Dump Street Call Boxes
Fire Department: 80 Percent Of Calls Are False Alarms

POSTED: 1:36 p.m. PST February 4, 2005
UPDATED: 1:48 p.m. PST February 4, 2005

Story by The KCRA Channel

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- They've stood watch on Sacramento's streets for 75 years. Now, a part of history will be coming down.

The city has decided to remove its outdated fire call boxes. There are 562 of the bright red street call boxes throughout Sacramento. But with the invention of the cell
phone, the boxes usefulness has been outgrown.

"With the increase in cell phones, digital communication, street boxes are just way out of date," said Sacramento City Fire Department spokesman Capt. Gary Henslee.

The fire department cites another reason to disarm the street boxes, saying 80 percent of all calls made from the call boxes are false alarms, and only 5 percent turn out to be true emergencies.  But not every one wants to see the fireboxes removed.

"The majority of people have cell phones, but not every one. So, what are they supposed to do, scream, 'fire?'" Michele Taylor said.  "They add style, class, panache," Matthew Surman said.  "Like the red telephone booths in England, they're nice to have around town," said Vincent Solorio.  "Someone's going to need them some day. It's nice to know they're there," Helen Howe said.

But others say technology has rendered the boxes relics.  "Take them down. We don't need them," Robert Lewis said.  By the end of 2006, the red boxes should all be gone. It's estimated the city will spend about $500,000 to remove the call boxes.

Although the city hasn't decided what to do with the boxes, three options are being discussed: donate them to a museum; keep them in city archives; or sell them on eBay.  The average going price for a fire department call box is $144.

Copyright 2005 by TheKCRAChannel.

[mlmummert]

Does Sacramento have any master boxes?  If so, how many and will they remain in service or be removed as well?

Matthew Mummert

[efd499]

Don't know if you have already heard, The City of Sacramento California is in the process and the link to them directly is:
 
                       http://www.cityofsacramento.org/Fire_Alarm_Removal/index.htm

                                 :cry:
                                    John
                                   efd499

[steveng]

Maybe they could donate the boxes to a fire or city museum in the area. When Cleveland removed there street boxes they donated them to the Western Reserve Fire Museum who then sold them to firefighters and buffs as a fund raiser.

[Randy Wootton]

Sacramento had 562 boxes in service when the decision to remove them was made.  The boxes, pedestals, and related equipment were donated by the City of Sacramento to the Pioneer Mutual Hook and Ladder Society in Sacramento.  Several boxes were donated to the Sacramento Archives and Museum Collections Center.  The City is retaining 5% of the boxes.  The last box was removed from the street last week.  I'll post additional information when the boxes are ready for sale.  Plans are to sell them locally.