Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company, Old Main Building
- Architect
- Voorhees, Gmelin and Walker
- Year
- 1927
- Style
- Art Deco
- City
- Washington, DC
- Collection
- d.c. deco
The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company built the Old Main Building in downtown Washington, D.C. in 1927 to house its growing exchange operations, one of several buildings the company constructed at this site as demand for telephone service expanded. Voorhees, Gmelin and Walker designed the building in the Art Deco style.
the building
Part of a telephone complex. The Old Main Building stood alongside related structures the company built nearby, including a separate telephone company building and a warehouse and repair facility, reflecting how much infrastructure a citywide phone network required.
the style
The Old Main Building's design is Art Deco, the fashionable commercial style of its 1927 construction date, applied here to a working telephone exchange rather than a department store or office tower.
More on Art Decosignificance
The Old Main Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988, one of several Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company buildings around the city recognized for their role in the early telephone network.
nearby
- McLachlen Building
- Church of the Epiphany
- Greyhound Bus Terminal
- Brownley Building
- Second National Bank
- Federal-American National Bank