A lot of people did not have a phone in their house at that time, but there was a red public phone box on almost every street, otherwise the bookmakers may have gone out of business.
Tom Jones used to have a British red public phonebox next to the swimming pool at his L.A. mansion. Imagine that, mansion, swimming pool but has to go outside to use the phone.
It's not unusual.
They had one at a restaurant called Picadilly's in Wichita, Kansas when I lived there.
