Wind Phone provides grieving space in Salinas

A Wind Phone, a disconnected rotary telephone used as a symbolic space for grieving, is located in a garden in downtown Salinas. Part of the Papillon Center for Loss & Transition’s initiatives, the phone allows residents to speak to deceased loved ones to share news, ask questions, or say goodbyes.

The concept originated in Japan with Itaru Sasaki and gained global recognition following the 2011 tsunami. The Salinas installation is housed in a vintage newsstand featuring artwork by muralist Paul Richmond and was supported by the Arts Council for Monterey County.

In addition to the Salinas location, a second Wind Phone is situated at Saint Dunstan’s Episcopal Church in Carmel Valley. Plans are underway for a third phone at the Veterans Transition Center in Marina, with more potential locations in Monterey County.