A Brief History of Kiosks
Starting in the 1870s in Paris, the poster became the predominate means of mass communication on the street. The ability to combine word and image in a powerful format quickly ushered in the age of advertising and the streets of Paris, Berlin, Milan, and London were flooded with art posters by such renowned artists as Lautrec, Mucha and Cheret. In 1914 France established a national kiosk system to establish a standard poster size and to designate places where posters could be placed. Since then the term kiosk has come to mean a public structure where one could obtain information. Much like a village crier that shouts out the news on a busy street corner, one of the kiosks main duties is to get your attention and impart information. The Cornerstone Kiosk was designed to combine traditional function with the style and romance associated with the kiosks of Paris and the iconic character of the old, red telephone booths of London.