Do they still have the big mailboxes on the street?

[Alpo]

Yeah the big blue and red boxes where you can pull open that big door and throw your mail in it?

 

I have not seen one in my town for years. They have four or five of them at the post office so you can mail at the post office without getting out of your car and going into the building. But just out on the street? No.

 

They appear to have them in Washington DC, though. At least they do on NCIS.

 

The episode where Tony ends up swapping spit with a pre-op transsexual, Tim identified the house from the photograph based on the street lights and the tree species and the fact that there was a mailbox on the street.

 

The episode where they end up going out west and Gibbs has to shoot down a helicopter with a Winchester 73 with a tang fight that the sheriff believes is a Henry that pulls to the right. At the beginning of that episode an NCIS agent is murdered. But before the murderer can get up to him he quickly shoves the package he has down inside one of them mailboxes.

 

Those two were both early episodes. But in a later episode - maybe season 16 or so - Gibbs sees this guy he knows from years back when he was undercover as a dirtbag, so he ditches his wallet and his badge and his cell phone, so when he reconnects with the scumbag he won't have anything that identifies him as a cop. He ditched them by dropping off three of them inside a street mailbox.

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

There’s one up around the corner here, two blocks away. Three boxes actually, two blue, one green IIRC.

[J-BAR #18287]

Yes, common here in Springfield, MO.

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

There are still some around, but not as common as they once were.

 

Saw several telephone booths recently.  They are in an antique store here in town and they are asking about half of what I paid for my first house.  I's like one of the old wooden ones but have several "don't knows".  Why I want it, where I'd put it, what I'd use it for, etc.

[Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L]

We have one down the road (rural area). Stopped to mail a letter once and the damn thing was locked!

[Rip Snorter]

Some of those boxes were not for depositing outgoing mail, but for staging mail on walking routes in areas where the postal employees still walk.

[Rye Miles #13621]

2 hours ago, Alpo said:

Yeah the big blue and red boxes where you can pull open that big door and throw your mail in it?

 

I have not seen one in my town for years. They have four or five of them at the post office so you can mail at the post office without getting out of your car and going into the building. But just out on the street? No.

 

They appear to have them in Washington DC, though. At least they do on NCIS.

 

The episode where Tony ends up swapping spit with a pre-op transsexual, Tim identified the house from the photograph based on the street lights and the tree species and the fact that there was a mailbox on the street.

 

The episode where they end up going out west and Gibbs has to shoot down a helicopter with a Winchester 73 with a tang fight that the sheriff believes is a Henry that pulls to the right. At the beginning of that episode an NCIS agent is murdered. But before the murderer can get up to him he quickly shoves the package he has down inside one of them mailboxes.

 

Those two were both early episodes. But in a later episode - maybe season 16 or so - Gibbs sees this guy he knows from years back when he was undercover as a dirtbag, so he ditches his wallet and his badge and his cell phone, so when he reconnects with the scumbag he won't have anything that identifies him as a cop. He ditched them by dropping off three of them inside a street mailbox.

None here that I know of, they’re all at the post offices.

[Eyesa Horg]

We still have them outside the post office, but not drive up. Still gotta get out of the car and walk to them.

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

 

There are a few of them in my neck of the woods.  Not as prolific as they once were though.  Postal service got tired of clowns throwing stuff in the mail boxes that destroyed the mail.

[Cypress Sun]

 

Except for the ones in the post office parking lot, I haven't seen one for a few years now. I guess they have them outside the strip store PO's but have advised folks to not use them due to criminals stealing the mail out of them. Personally, I take my mail to the PO and use the indoor receptacle or manned counter.

[Subdeacon Joe]

Still have some around here.   With no camera surveillance.

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

1 hour ago, Rip Snorter said:

Some of those boxes were not for depositing outgoing mail, but for staging mail on walking routes in areas where the postal employees still walk.

Those would be the green ones.  I saw one once, the key was hanging in the door. I took it out and dumped in the box, called the PO and told them where to find their key, I presume they have another key somewhere.

[Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L]

Pic of the one near me (5 miles) that is locked. The building is an abandoned fire station.

 

[Mud Marine,SASS#54686 Life]

Bonners Ferry, Idaho has them at all of the grocery stores and at the truck stop.

[Rip Snorter]

33 minutes ago, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said:

Those would be the green ones.  I saw one once, the key was hanging in the door. I took it out and dumped in the box, called the PO and told them where to find their key, I presume they have another key somewhere.

Used to be green, but at least in places I lived there was a year when they painted them all solid blue.  Quite a while back in time.  

[Linn Keller, SASS 27332, BOLD 103]

So many instances of mail carriers being held up, their universal keys being stolen.

Consequently, mail is stolen from the blue boxes, and the US Postal Service advises us not to use the blue boxes for anything containing money, payments, checks or other valuable material you don't want stolen.

World's going to hell in a handbasket and this is another manifestation.

[Rye Miles #13621]

1 hour ago, Linn Keller, SASS 27332, BOLD 103 said:

So many instances of mail carriers being held up, their universal keys being stolen.

Consequently, mail is stolen from the blue boxes, and the US Postal Service advises us not to use the blue boxes for anything containing money, payments, checks or other valuable material you don't want stolen.

World's going to hell in a handbasket and this is another manifestation.

You beat me to it but you explained it better than I would have! If I mail a check I go inside.

[Michigan Slim]

Lots in Indiana.

[Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474]

Still common in Canada; some smaller ones mounted on hydro poles, other larger ones free standing.

Newer communities do not get door to door delivery and instead have "Community Mail Boxes" with separate, locked compartments for each address and a slot to receive outgoing mail envelopes, (only) located close by.

Edited January 17 by Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474

[Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619]

We have plenty here, a city of 200,000, though some have been closed over the last couple of years. (They've always been blue, not blue and red.)

 

Most have been reworked here to keep out anything but letters, so the drive-ups are rare and the 'regulars' have restricted opening. All because of increased mail theft.

[Marshal Dan Troop 70448]

There was a time in my town were there were green mailboxes which a driver from the post office would drive around and put mail sorted for the mailman who delivered mail pushing a 3 wheeler around. He had a key and would pick up the mail to be delivered in a given vicinity. There were also small mail drop boxes on concrete pillars for people to drop letters in and picked up by the mailman. These were scattered through in town areas.

Begore the 3 wheelers, I remember mailmen carrying their mail pouches with mail over their shoulders walking their routes.

[John Kloehr]

Post offices around here (Smoky Mountains) have blue boxes in the parking lots.

 

The Kroger in Pigeon Forge has a blue box by the prescription drive through. This is the only non-post office public drop-off I know of. There might be others I have not noticed.

[Alpo]

1 hour ago, Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619 said:

They've always been blue, not blue and red.)

I went and did a picture search. See if I was losing my memory worse than I knew I was.

 

Most of the pictures I found, the boxes were blue.

 

 

But I did find a couple that were red and blue.

 

 

Apparently much older box, so maybe I'm older than I thought I was.

[Rye Miles #13621]

1 hour ago, Marshal Dan Troop 70448 said:

There was a time in my town were there were green mailboxes which a driver from the post office would drive around and put mail sorted for the mailman who delivered mail pushing a 3 wheeler around. He had a key and would pick up the mail to be delivered in a given vicinity. There were also small mail drop boxes on concrete pillars for people to drop letters in and picked up by the mailman. These were scattered through in town areas.

Begore the 3 wheelers, I remember mailmen carrying their mail pouches with mail over their shoulders walking their routes.

There’s still a few green boxes here in neighborhoods for the carriers to put their mail. They mostly just use their trucks now. 

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

I never understood butting a mailbox at the Post Office. I put mail in a mailbox so I don't have to GO to the Post Office.

That being said, there still a few around here, but you can only get a flat package, like a letter into them.

Edited January 18 by Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770

[Eyesa Horg]

23 minutes ago, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said:

I never understood butting a mailbox at the Post Office. I put mail in a mailbox so I don't have to GO to the Post Office.

That being said, there still a few around here, but you can only get a flat package, like a letter into them.

Around me, they are tiny one person POs. Only open a few hours a day. Gives ya a spot to drop mail if ya need to.

[Cypress Sun]

13 minutes ago, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said:

I never understood butting a mailbox at the Post Office. I put mail in a mailbox so I don't have to GO to the Post Office.

That being said, there still a few around here, but you can only get a flat package, like a letter into them.

 

I go to the post office and use the postal receptacle INSIDE the post office.  Sounds like a hassle but I have my reasons.

 

Reasons:

- I watched a mail jeep driving on a main road spewing mail from the rear of the "jeep" out of an open rear hatch or door (I don't remember which). This mail was coming out of one of those large khaki sacks.

- I've witnessed people driving around checking mailboxes with flags up and stealing the mail out of them. Got the tag number on one of them, called the Sheriff's office...they didn't want to take a report, seemed like they didn't care.

- I've seen the big blue drop boxes stuffed so full that the mail was actually overflowing...and idiots were still trying to stuff mail in them.

- I've seen kids and teens dumping drinks, food, fireworks, etc. in the big blue boxes with both the door and the 3" slot.

- It just seems like it would be too easy to steal mail out of the big blue boxes. I'm a luddite, I still use the USPS to mail bills as I have few "auto pay" accounts.

[Eyesa Horg]

I'm in a town of 470, so it's not too scary for the once in a blue moon.

[watab kid]

none of the small blue and red - they are all gone , but we have the large blue - mostly at postal installations , these are generally drive up drops , 

 

a couple are located near grocery stores yet , 

Edited January 18 by watab kid