The Flickr Telephoneswitchingbuilding Image Generatr

An archived snapshot of a page from a defunct crowdsourced website says this began as a three-story building erected in 1929-1930, then was expanded and renovated in 1950, 1963, and 1973. I found other online sources that flatly state that it was completed in 1973 or in 1976.

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In downtown Kansas City, Missouri, on March 27th, 2022, the AT&T Long Lines Building, a/k/a the AT&T Longlines Building, a/k/a the AT&T Toll Building, a/k/a the Southwestern Bell Telephone Building, at 1425 Oak St, the northeast corner of Oak Street and Truman Road, as viewed across Interstate 670 from the southwest corner of Truman Road and McGee Street.

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Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names terms:
• Jackson (county) (2001208)
• Kansas City (7013820)

Art & Architecture Thesaurus terms:
• beige (color) (300266234)
• brick (clay material) (300010463)
• logos (300028715)
• masonry veneer (300444225)
• skyscrapers (300004809)
• telephone exchanges (300005416)
• traffic signals (300003915)
• traffic signs (300211849)

Wikidata items:
• 27 March 2022 (Q69306379)
• 1970s in architecture (Q17173162)
• arrow (Q1139519)
• AT&T (Q35476)
• Downtown Kansas City (Q2944777)
• gantry (Q2235510)
• highway shield (Q5759965)
• Interstate 70 (Q94632)
• Interstate 670 (Q2453708)
• Interstate Highway System (Q94247)
• Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS Combined Statistical Area (Q111496508)
• March 27 (Q2457)
• March 2022 (Q61312974)
• Southwestern Bell (Q3301294)
• Treaty with the Osage, 1825 (Q7105525)
• Truman Road (Q7847730)
• United States Numbered Highway System (Q408192)
• U.S. Route 24 (Q408147)
• U.S. Route 40 (Q409496)

Library of Congress Subject Headings:
• Telephone stations (sh85133431)

Do we believe it's from 1958.

In a local history enthusiasts' group on Facebook, I found a post that shows a picture of a row of ladies working switchboards at this address in 1961, so maybe it is.

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In downtown Davenport, Iowa, on May 20th, 2023, an AT&T building (formerly Northwestern Bell, said here to have been built in 1958) at the southwest corner of North Main Street and West 6th Street.

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Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names terms:
• Davenport (7013507)
• Scott (county) (2000642)

Art & Architecture Thesaurus terms:
• brown (color) (300127490)
• exterior lighting (300052025)
• exterior walls (300002523)
• light brown (300127503)
• Mid-Century Modernist (300343610)
• panels (surface elements) (300069079)
• recessed (300375746)
• telephone exchanges (300005416)

Wikidata items:
• 20 May 2023 (Q69306805)
• 1950s in architecture (Q11185577)
• 1958 in architecture (Q2812203)
• AT&T (Q35476)
• Black Hawk Purchase (Q879963)
• Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area (Q7268261)
• Eastern Iowa (Q14214551)
• May 20 (Q2579)
• May 2023 (Q61312956)
• Northwestern Bell Telephone Company (Q7060286)
• Quad Cities (Q1660598)

Library of Congress Subject Headings:
• Grids (Crisscross patterns) (sh2006005408)
• Telephone stations (sh85133431)

I cannot find an authoritative history of this telephone building and its expansions and remodelings. It seems like circa 1970 would be a good guess for this wall, right?

The street is the route of U.S. Highway 70, which goes from Globe, Arizona, to Atlantic, North Carolina, via Little Rock and Memphis. Sheesh when is the last time anybody drove the whole route from one end to the other; and were they feeling crazy by the time they got done.

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In downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, on April 4th, 2023, an American elm (Ulmus americana) (per the Raleigh Street and Park Trees dataset) on the east side of South McDowell Street (U.S. routes 70 and 401 and North Carolina Highway 50) between West Morgan Street and West Hargett Street, outside an AT&T building.

At the left is a Chinese elm (Ulmus parvifolia).

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Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names terms:
• Raleigh (7013949)
• Wake (county) (2001548)

Art & Architecture Thesaurus terms:
• Brutalist (300112048)
• concrete (300010737)
• exterior walls (300002523)
• spring (season) (300133097)
• telephone exchanges (300005416)
• trees (300132410)
• Ulmus americana (species) (300374853)

Wikidata items:
• 4 April 2023 (Q69306758)
• April 4 (Q2508)
• April 2023 (Q61313055)
• AT&T (Q35476)
• North Carolina Highway 50 (Q2488945)
• ornamental tree (Q33249028)
• Piedmont (Q426977)
• Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC Combined Statistical Area (Q117861793)
• Research Triangle (Q767860)
• Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company (Q17141630)
• street tree (Q491700)
• U.S. Route 70 (Q410063)
• U.S. Route 401 (Q4297315)

Library of Congress Subject Headings:
• American elm (sh85004315)
• Telephone stations (sh85133431)
• Trees in cities (sh85137261)
• Concrete walls (sh85030747)urban tree

Been thinkin about it quite a bit lately.

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In downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, on April 4th, 2023, a Chinese elm (Ulmus parvifolia) (per the Raleigh Street and Park Trees dataset) on the east side of South McDowell Street (U.S. routes 70 and 401 and North Carolina Highway 50) between West Morgan Street and West Hargett Street, outside an AT&T building.

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Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names terms:
• Raleigh (7013949)
• Wake (county) (2001548)

Art & Architecture Thesaurus terms:
• Brutalist (300112048)
• concrete (300010737)
• exterior walls (300002523)
• evening (300343633)
• spring (season) (300133097)
• telephone exchanges (300005416)
• trees (300132410)
• Ulmus parvifolia (species) (300374855)

Wikidata items:
• 4 April 2023 (Q69306758)
• April 4 (Q2508)
• April 2023 (Q61313055)
• AT&T (Q35476)
• North Carolina Highway 50 (Q2488945)
• ornamental tree (Q33249028)
• Piedmont (Q426977)
• Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC Combined Statistical Area (Q117861793)
• Research Triangle (Q767860)
• Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company (Q17141630)
• street tree (Q491700)
• U.S. Route 70 (Q410063)
• U.S. Route 401 (Q4297315)

Library of Congress Subject Headings:
• Elm (sh85042618)
• Telephone stations (sh85133431)
• Trees in cities (sh85137261)
• Concrete walls (sh85030747)urban tree

It drove people wild!, everybody in town talked about it.

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In downtown Fort Worth, Texas, on February 12th, 2023, the AT&T Building, formerly the Southwestern Bell Building, at the northeast corner of Throckmorton Street and West 11th Street, as viewed from the north side of West 10th Street, east of Taylor Street.

The tower is from 1974, designed by Albert S. Komatsu & Associates. The shorter wings to its left and right were built in stages from the 1940s to the 1960s, as detailed here.

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Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names terms:
• Fort Worth (7013934)
• Tarrant (county) (1002939)

Art & Architecture Thesaurus terms:
• beige (color) (300266234)
• blank walls (300002474)
• brick (clay material) (300010463)
• central business districts (300000868)
• high-rise buildings (300004810)
• light brown (300127503)
• oblique views (300015503)
• one-way streets (300008266)
• streetscapes (300249570)
• tan (color) (300266248)
• telephone exchanges (300005416)

Wikidata items:
• 12 February 2023 (Q69306707)
• 1970s in architecture (Q17173162)
• 1974 in architecture (Q2812628)
• AT&T (Q35476)
• Dallas-Fort Worth (Q179295)
• Downtown Fort Worth (Q5303439)
• February 12 (Q2336)
• February 2023 (Q61312937)
• North Texas (Q3493922)
• Southwestern Bell (Q3301294)

Library of Congress Subject Headings:
• Brick walls (sh85016796)
• Streets—Texas (sh93000606)
• Telephone stations (sh85133431)

Union List of Artist Names IDs:
• Komatsu & Associates (American architectural firm, contemporary) (500208293)

Bell was a better name than Verizon because it prompted us to think fondly of pleasing sounds of ringing bells. Oh well, it's all gone.

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In downtown Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on September 16th, 2020, a Verizon building, built by the Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania in 1929 (the portion at the right, at least), on the south side of South Main Street between East Ross Street and East South Street, during hazy conditions caused by wildfire smoke from the western U.S.

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Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names terms:
• Luzerne (county) (1002612)
• Wilkes-Barre (7014627)

Art & Architecture Thesaurus terms:
• additions (general components) (300055458)
• beige (color) (300266234)
• brick (clay material) (300010463)
• exterior walls (300002523)
• parking lots (300007826)
• side views (300264743)
• telephone exchanges (300005416)

Wikidata items:
• 16 September 2020 (Q57396895)
• 1920s in architecture (Q11185486)
• 1929 in architecture (Q2744495)
• 2020 Western United States wildfires (Q99215604)
• haze (Q643546)
• Northeastern Pennsylvania (Q7058048)
• Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area (Q14220100)
• September 16 (Q2897)
• September 2020 (Q55281173)
• Treaty of Fort Stanwix (Q246501)
• Verizon (Q467752)
• Wyoming Valley (Q604264)

Library of Congress Subject Headings:
• Brick walls (sh85016796)
• Buildings—Pennsylvania (sh85017803)
• Telephone stations (sh85133431)

Got a nondriveway there too.

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In downtown Flint, Michigan, on December 9th, 2018, at the southeast corner of West 1st Street and Church Street, outside the AT&T Building.

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Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names terms:
• Flint (7013765)
• Genesee (county) (1002406)

Art & Architecture Thesaurus terms:
• barbed wire (300011064)
• Brutalist (300112048)
• chain link fences (300002002)
• guardrails (300002019)
• sidewalks (300003893)
• telephone exchanges (300005416)
• trees (300132410)

Wikidata items:
• 9 December 2018 (Q45921992)
• AT&T Corporation (Q2843047)
• Central Michigan (Q2945568)
• December 9 (Q2304)
• December 2018 (Q31179612)
• tree stump (Q811646)

Library of Congress Subject Headings:
• Trees in cities (sh85137261)

If any people know the secret of when this was erected, they seem not yet to have revealed it on the worldwide web.

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In downtown Flint, Michigan, on December 9th, 2018, the AT&T Building as viewed from the southwest corner of West 2nd Street and Beach Street.

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Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names terms:
• Flint (7013765)
• Genesee (county) (1002406)

Art & Architecture Thesaurus terms:
• Modern Movement (300121793)
• telephone exchanges (300005416)
• vents (outlets) (300002943)

Wikidata items:
• 9 December 2018 (Q45921992)
• AT&T Corporation (Q2843047)
• Central Michigan (Q2945568)
• December 9 (Q2304)
• December 2018 (Q31179612)

Library of Congress Subject Headings:
• Telephone stations (sh85133431)

No I'm just kidding, it's a storage center for regional communications surveillance data, operated by AT&T on behalf of the National Security Agency.

See how small that parking lot tree is.

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In downtown Jacksonville, Florida, on December 30th, 2017, the AT&T Building, formerly known as the BellSouth Telecommunications Building, erected 1972, at the southwest corner of West Church Street and North Pearl Street.

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Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names terms:
• Duval (county) (2000264)
• Jacksonville (7013804)

Art & Architecture Thesaurus terms:
• Brutalist (300112048)
• concrete (300010737)
• telephone exchanges (300005416)

Wikidata items:
• 30 December 2017 (Q37788159)
• 1970s architecture (Q7160121)
• AT&T Corporation (Q2843047)
• Buildings and structures completed in 1972 (Q6404494)
• December 30 (Q2901)
• December 2017 (Q22971091)
• Downtown Jacksonville (Q5303468)
• North Florida (Q7055353)
• Northeast Florida (Q387785)
• overcast (Q1055865)

Library of Congress Subject Headings:
• Concrete construction (sh85030704)
• Telephone stations (sh85133431)

I collect pictures of these and here one is. The bldg is said to have been erected in 1963 as an addition to the circa-1923 building to which it is attached. Imagine trying to explain the word "Verizon" to a 1960s person.

There the great green dome of the state capitol is. Ah the government of Pennsylvania. I'm getting hungry for a piece of lime candy.

The electric firework decoration calls imagery to mind of Americans' hearts weeping with joy at the musical notion of bursting bombs. In air!

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In downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on May 4th, 2015, a Verizon building at the intersection of North 2nd Street and Pine Street, as viewed from the River Street Garage.

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Library of Congress classification ideas:
NA6589.T45 Telephone stations—Pictorial works.
HE7797.V37 Verizon—Pictorial works.
HE8846.A55 American Telephone and Telegraph Company—Pictorial works.
NA712.5.M63 Modern movement (Architecture)—United States—Pictorial works.
NA4120 Building, Brick—United States—Pictorial works.
NA705 Buildings—Additions—United States—Pictorial works.
E169.12 Nineteen sixties—Pictorial works.
F159.H3 Harrisburg (Pa.)—Pictorial works.

ARCHETYPAL telephone building. Plus a Kubota KX080-3 ultra-compact excavator. I'm more interested in the telephone building than the excavator.

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In downtown South Bend, Indiana, on September 13th, 2014, the AT&T Building, formerly the SBC Building, formerly the Ameritech Building, formerly the Indiana Bell Telephone Building, erected 1961, as viewed from the west side of South Lafayette Boulevard between West Wayne Street and West Western Avenue.

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Library of Congress classification ideas:
NA6589.T45 Telephone stations—Pictorial works.
NA712.5.M63 Modern movement (Architecture)—United States—Pictorial works.
NA4125 Concrete construction—United States—Pictorial works.
TJ1355 Excavating machinery—Pictorial works.
HE8846.A55 AT & T (Firm)—Pictorial works.
E169.12 Nineteen sixties—Pictorial works.
F534.S7 South Bend (Ind.)—Pictorial works.

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Art & Architecture Thesaurus term:
• bollards

Oh my gosh these were imposing. Saginaw is wonderful.

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In downtown Saginaw, Michigan, on May 26th, 2013, a 1974 addition to the AT&T Building as viewed from the northeast corner of South Washington Avenue (Highway M-13) and Hayden Street.

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Library of Congress classification ideas:
NA2860 Columns—United States—Pictorial works.
NA6589.T45 Telephone stations—Pictorial works.
NA712.5.M63 Modern movement (Architecture)—United States—Pictorial works.
HE8846.A55 AT & T (Firm)—Pictorial works.
E169.12 Nineteen seventies—Pictorial works.
F574.S15 Saginaw (Mich.)—Pictorial works.

It was an architectural expression of hostility to the idea of being able to see a building's contents — in the heart of downtown Muncie, Indiana!

Also there was a creative Logs idea for a dumpster fence.

The bldg was supposedly built in 1948 and renovated in 1970, according to web crowdsourcing.

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In downtown Muncie, Indiana, on December 18th, 2011, a view from the north side of East Charles Street, east of South Elm Street.

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Library of Congress classification ideas:
NA6589.T45 Telephone stations—Pictorial works.
TL175 Parking lots—United States—Pictorial works.
TK3242 Electric lines—Poles and towers—Pictorial works.
TH7970.L35 Lampposts—Pictorial works.
HE8846.A55 AT & T (Firm)—Pictorial works.
F534.M9 Muncie (Ind.)—Pictorial works.

It is owned by the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, according to parcel data from the GIS office of the City of Beaumont, and presumably is filled with telephone switching equipment. I cannot find any evidence on the internet of the building having a name other than 220 Main Street; nor can I find any funfacts such as Erection Year.

A google search of the address turns up a bunch of very poor-quality business directory websites ("yellowpages.com," "superpages.com", "usplaces.com," "usbizplace.com," "getfave.com," "hoursofoperation.biz," "thewebmap.com," "texas-businessdirectory.com," "us.justdial.com," etc. — garbage websites!) that erroneously list 220 Main Street in Beaumont as the address of an array of small businesses ("Orthotics & Prosthetics Techniques," "Nelson Architectural Engineers," "Dugas Clay Attorney," "Alpha Communications," "Texas Siding Co.," "Bass Billy," "Bean David," "Complete Homecare Service.") The sites' botched and spoiled databases contain telephone numbers formerly associated with particular businesses, numbers that in present-day reality are no longer associated with any entities other than the local telephone company, the address of which — 220 Main St in Beaumont — is then assigned to those businesses for public display. Stupid!

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In downtown Beaumont, Texas, on July 14th, 2014, a view from the west side of Pearl Street (U.S. Route 90) south of Broadway Street.

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Library of Congress classification ideas:
TK6211 Telephone stations—Pictorial works.
F394.B3 Beaumont (Tex.)—Pictorial works.

The distant skyscraper reflected in the lake is a phone-switching building erected in 1930. Its caketopper was attached in 1974.

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In downtown Saginaw, Michigan, on May 25th, 2013, off the south side of East Genesee Avenue, east of South Baum Street.

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Library of Congress classification ideas:
S591 Mud—Pictorial works.
GB665 Rainwater—Pictorial works.
NA6215 Central business districts—United States—Pictorial works.
HD257 Vacant lands—United States—Pictorial works.
F574.S15 Saginaw (Mich.)—Pictorial works.

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Art & Architecture Thesaurus term:
• skylines