Princeton University Wind Phone

The idea emerged in 2022, when Millet Israeli, a Princeton alumna and therapist, suggested that a temporary Wind Phone be placed in Prospect Garden during her class reunion. The phone stayed only for the weekend, but the experience marked the beginning of the idea for a permanent place on campus.

A year later, the Wind Phone found a permanent home in the garden behind Maclean House. The structure was built by the university’s woodworking workshop, with students and the university’s TigerWell program participating in its creation.

Israeli describes the act very simply—you pick up the receiver and talk. More than one person later admitted to her that they hadn’t believed they would be able to do it. And she herself explains the power of the physical phone with something very human: it is easier to talk into something than simply to speak aloud to no one.