Painter Gerson Gomez, working with artist Charles Bergen
Painter Gerson Gomez, working with artist Charles Bergen (not pictured), colors an old call box formerly used to alert firefighters in Washington (AFP Photo/Alastair Pike)
Washington (AFP) - Decades after they helped save lives in the US capital, police and fire department call boxes still stand on city corners, relics of a time when firefighters used horse-drawn wagons and cops walked the beat.
Now, more than 40 years since they were last used as a fire alert and police communication system, the cast iron curiosities in downtown Washington are coming back to life as street art.
To honor prominent women from Washington's history, local artist Charles Bergen is jazzing up eight call boxes in the city's bustling heart.
