Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company, Old Main Building

The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company, Old Main Building is a historic structure located in Downtown Washington, D.C. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company, Old Main Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	722 Twelfth St., NW Washington, D.C.
Coordinates	38°53′56″N 77°1′42″W
Built	1903-1904
Architect	Leon Eidlitz
Architectural style	Late 19th and early 20th Century Revivals
NRHP reference No.	88000652[1]
Added to NRHP	June 13, 1988

History

As the number of businesses in Washington increasingly relied in telephone service, Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company built this building as its new main exchange. Designed by architect Leon Eidlitz, it was the first of a complex of buildings the company would construct at this site. The building houses what was considered to be the largest telephone switchboard at the time.[2] It began operations in September 1904 and served 6,000 at the beginning.[2] The new system eliminated the multiple rings on party lines and the need for an operator to interrupt the line to determine whether a subscriber had completed a call or wanted to receive calls.

See also

• Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company Building
• Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company Warehouse and Repair Facility

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. "District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites". DC Preservation. Archived from the original on 2011-07-01. Retrieved 2011-11-23.