This Unconnected Telephone in Millvale Lets You ‘Speak’ to Departed Loved Ones

Pittsburgh’s Telephone of the Wind was installed in 2023.

1 hour ago

Sean Collier,

THE TELEPHONE OF THE WIND IS LOCATED IN MILLVALE. | PHOTO BY SEAN COLLIER

An essential public service is hidden away in a Millvale alley.

Tucked into a corner behind the gallery and performance space The Maple Leaf, you’ll find a quiet, lovely courtyard with a phone mounted in the corner. If you pick up the receiver — which looks like the sort of phone you’d find hanging in your parents’ kitchen — you won’t hear anything. But you’re more than free to talk.

This is Pittsburgh’s Telephone of the Wind, designed to allow people to “speak” to departed loved ones. The first such unconnected telephone was installed in 2010 in Ōtsuchi, Japan; its creator, Itaru Sasaki, used it to convey his thoughts to a cousin who had died of cancer. Similar installations can be found in out-of-the-way spots around the world (there’s another in a Johnstown cemetery), often dedicated to someone’s memory.

The telephone in Millvale, which was installed in 2023, is dedicated to Katie Whysong, a Fox Chapel teen who in 2021 died by suicide after struggles with depression. An enlargement of a painting by Whysong hangs near the phone, and her loved ones also run the Positive Painting Project in her memory.

Those who may be grieving can use the phone to release emotions and put words to what they’re feeling; for anyone, however, this small corner of Millvale is a soothing and peaceful place for quiet reflection. Pittsburgh’s phone booth also contains a small journal for written messages. Perusing the remembrances and wishes left there is a sombering and emotional reminder that grief is universal — but can be approached with care and intention.