NPS orm 10-900 Oct. 1990) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Place s Registration Form I ame of Property historic name Beaumont Telephone Exchange Building other nameslsite number Bomont Branch and Exchange 1 2 Location street number 654 Locust Street [ n/a ] not for publication city or town 31. Louis [nla] vicinity statemsouri code M O county St. Louis [Independent City1 code 5 10 zip code 63 103 (3. StatelFederal Agency Certification As the d esigna ted authorit y unde r the N ationa l Historic Preservation Act, as amended, I hereby certify that this [ x ] nomination [ ] request for determi nation of eligib ility meet s the documentation standards f or registering properties in the National Register of Histo ric Places and meets the proced ural and prof essiona l requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60 n my opinio n, the pro perty [ x ] meets [ ]doe s not meet the National Registe r criteria . recommend that this property be considered si gnificant [ ] nationally [ ] st atewid e [ x local ly. ( See continuation sheet for additional comments [ I. S~gn ature f cer? fy~ng tfic~all ~tle Mark A. M~ le s Deputy SHPO Date Missouri Department of Natural Resources State or Federal agency and bureau In my opinion, th e property [ ] meets [ ]doe s not meet t he National Register criteria. (See continu ation sheet for additional comments [ 1.) Signature of certifying officiallTitle State or Federal agency and bureau 14 National Park Service Certification Signature of the Keeper Date of Action I hereby certify that the property is: [ ] entered in the National Register See continuation sheet [ 1 [ ] deterniined eligible for the Nation al Register See cor~tir~ua'tion heet [ 1 [ ] determined not eligible for the National Register [ ] removed from the National Register [ ] other, explain see continuation sheet [ 1
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Beaumont Telephone Exchange Building - National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
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8/12/2019 Beaumont Telephone Exchange Building - National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
historic name Beaumont Telep hone Exchange Building
other nameslsite number Bomont Branch and Exchange
12 Location
street number 654 Locust Street [ n/a ] not for publication
city or town 3 1 . Louis [nla] vicinity
s t a t em sou r i code M O county St. Louis [Independent City1 code 5 10 zip code 63 103
(3. StatelFederal Agency Certification
As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, I hereby certify that this [ x ] nomination [ ] request for
determination of eligib ility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the
procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60 n my opinion, the property [ x ] meets [ ]does not meet the NationalRegister criteria. recommend that this property be considered significant [ ] nationally [ ] statewide [ x locally. ( See continuation sheet for
additional comments [ I.
S~gnature f cer? fy~ng tfic~all~t le Mark A. M~les Deputy SHPO Date
Missouri Department of Natural ResourcesState or Federal agency and bureau
In my opinion, the property [ ] meets [ ]does not meet the National Register criteria.
(See continuation sheet for additional comments [ 1.)
Signature of certifying officiallTitle
State or Federal agency and bureau
14 National Park S ervice Certification
Signature of the Keeper Date of Action
I hereby certify that the property is:
[ ] entered in the National Register
See continuation sheet [ 1[ ] deterniined eligible for the National Register
See cor~tir~ua'tionheet [ 1[ ] determined not eligible for the National Register
[ ] removed from the National Register
[ ] other, explain see continuation sheet [ 1
8/12/2019 Beaumont Telephone Exchange Building - National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
Applicable National Register Criteria Areas of Significance
[X ] A Property IS assoc~atedwith events that have made a significant contribution toCOMMUNICATIONS
the broad patterns of our history
[ ] B Property 1s assoc~ated ith the lives of persons significant in our past.
[ ] C Property mb od ~e she distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or methodof construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, Periods of Significance
or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack 1902-1955individual distinction.
[ ] D Property has y~elded , r is likely to yield, information important in prehistory or
history Significant Dates
Criteria Considerations nla
Property is:
[ A owned by a rel~glousnst~tut~onr used for rel~g~ousurposes
[ B removed from 11sor~g~nalocat~on
] C a b~r thplace r grave
I ] D a cemetery
] E a reconstructed bu~ ld~ ngbject, or structure
[ F a comrnemorat~veproperty
[ I less than 5C years of age or ach~eved ~gnlf~cance~ t h ~ nhe past 50 years
Significant Person@)
nla
Cultural Affiliation
nla
Architect/ Builder
Eames Younqlarchitect
R. Timlinlarchitect
Narrative Statement of SignificanceExplain the sign~fican ce f the property on one or more continuation sheets.)
19 Major Bibliog raphic References
BibliographyCite the books, articles and other sources used in preparing this form on one or more continuation sheets.)
Previous documentation o n file NPS):
[ ] preliminary determination of Individual listing (36 CFR 67) has been requested
[ j previously l~stet ln the National Register
[ ] previously determined el~ gible y the N ational Register
[ ] designated a Nat~onai istoric Landmark
[ ] recorded by Histor~cirrleric an Buildings Survey
t
Primary location of additional data:
[x] State Historic Preservation Office
[ ] Other State Agency
I ] Federal Agency
I ] Local Government
[ ] University
( ]Other:
[ ] recorded by Histor~c merican Engineering Record Name of repository:-
8/12/2019 Beaumont Telephone Exchange Building - National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
Thc Beaumont Telephone E xchange, located at 2654 Locust Street in St. Louis, Missouri,
is a multi-story o ffice building primarily o f steel and concrete construction. sheathed in
brick u ith white-glazed terra cotta embellishments. The rectangular footprint of the
original 1902 building. situated at the southeast corner of Locust and Beaumont Sweets,
gr eu into an E-shaped footprint through a string of additions. The earliest construclion
(n es t wing) exhibits plank and beam m ill construction, sheathed in brick with terra cotta
adornm ent and a granite w atertable; a later addition extend ed the building southward. but
incorporated original faqade treatments. A mosaic-tile w indow w as also incorporated
into the structure in a later alteration. Subsequ ent additions take visual cues from the
earlier con struction, albeit with less detail and ornamentation. The three-story center
wing and the larger six-story addition (east and main wings) are of steel and concrete,
fireproof construction. enveloped by brick courses upon a granite watertable. White-
glazed terra cotta detailing con~p leme ntaryo the original building, though not as
elaborate or as pervasive. u nifies all wings. Likewise, window size and fenestration is
corigrilous across all elevations of the exchange, though the encasem ents found on later
additions are without emb ellished surrounds. The E-shaped plan cre ates two courtyard
spaces which open to Locust Street. Each is presently gated and predominately paved or
tilled \hith gravel. Recessed into each is an entryway. The easternmo st entry is recessed
within a glass and brick pro-jected vestibule, w hile the westernmost entry is considerably
more elaborate, with a limestone and terra cotta door surround.
xterior
Thv orlginal telephone exch ange at Beaumont and Locust was built from plans by St.
l,ouis architects Eames and Young in 1902. Situated at the southeast corner of Locustand B eaumont Streets, the building measured 33 ft 4 in by 100 t upon com pletion
(Figure . The first major expansions by Bell Telephone C ompa ny of Missouri to its
Beaumont facility occurred in 1921 and 1925. In 1921. the result was an extension of the
building along the west (Beaum ont) elevation. and in 1925 the introduction of a 32 ft by
85 it. single-story addition to the roof. This roof addition connected to the upper story of
amajor. 130 ft by 130 ft addition designed by architect R. Timlin an d constructed in
1927. I he four-story addition introduced both a main and east wing and drastically
8/12/2019 Beaumont Telephone Exchange Building - National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
4ection 7 age Beaumont Telephone Exchange Building
St Louis [IndependentCity] Missouri
sylnmetrical intervals; the building originally featured nine w indow s until an addition in
lengthened the west faqade and introduced two window s on each story Imag e 3). The
second. terra cotta string course mim ics limestone and constitutes a continu ous lentil for
the windows at the above-ground basement level. A terra cotta string course anchors the
first story and provide s a continuou s sill for eleven w indow s along the west faqade. Bays
on both the first and secon d floor, at the north and south ends of this elevation. are
surrounded by terra cotta encasements that span the height between the two floors. The
terra cotta paneling repeats the work o f Locust Street fagade, but replaces the sem i-
circular terra cotta surround with a flat terra cotta head and a simplified keystone. Th e
bay of the northernm ost set includes two three-over-three w indows, while the
cornplemeritary southern bays are four-over-four. Between the terra cotta end ba j
three-over-three w indow s are recessed within pilasters. Thes e windo ws are
symmetrically arranged. one over the other. The w indows found on additional faqades
are also rectangular and six-over-six. and are distributed uniformly. On the eastern
e l e ~ a t i o n ,he window s of the upper three floors are slightly recessed w ithin pilasters and
simple. rusticated is evident in brick patterning between floors.
The main entryways are each tucked into two courtyards. An image from 1927 indicates
that the placement of these doorwa ys precedes the construction of the center wing Figure
3 . l h e image also reveals that the easternmost entry has been befuddled by alteration atdate unhnown. but likely beyond the period of significance. Presently. this glass and
brick entry surro unds a com merc ial double-door which projects toward Locust and serves
as a vestibule for a second double-door Imag e 4). The 1927 photograph sug gests that
this altered arrangem ent was once similar to the extant western entryway. This second
primarg door with ribbon transom is deeply recessed w ithin a decorated, white-glazed
terra cotta surround Imag e 5). The en tryway is bracketed by tw o pilasters, each with
fluted projections as capitals. The surround entablature features a centered keystone, as
well as two lionhead grotesq ues within the frieze. The entryway is capped with a broken,
scrolled pediment accented with wreath ornamenta tion. Within the western courtyard is a
concrete massing that obscures this doorway from the street.
4 t allc elexation. a two story. enclosed bridge pro-jects southward and c onnec ts the
Reaurnont exchange w ith a later telecom niunications facility on the block. The
pas sage nay is only visible on the alley faqade and is closed-off from use in the interior.
8/12/2019 Beaumont Telephone Exchange Building - National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
The Beau mon t Telephone Exchange Building, located at 2654 Locust Street, in St. Louis
(Independ ent City), Missouri. is locally significant under National Register Criterion A as
a ('omm unications facility. The original building wa s erected in 190 2 at the southe'tst
corner of Locust and Beaum ont from plans by St. Louis architectural firm Eam esYoun g. Constructed as a branch office and exchang e, the building housed the company's
long distance toll board, in addition to periods of duty as a local exchang e, througho ut the
period o f significance. Beaumont w as one of several exchange branches constructed by
Bell in the few years prior to the 1904 World's Fair. The building is a historic
representative of a period of great growth of the telephone industry in the United States
and in St. Louis. as epitomized by the competition between Bell and the Kinloch
Telephon e Comp any . Telephon e branches and offices operated by these companies were
unique]) integral to the rapid developmcnt of telephone comm unications and thus dotted
the urban landscape of St . Louis in the first decade of the Twentieth century . Very fe w
rernain 5tanding today. The Beaumont Telephon e Exchange is the only extant Bell
Telephon e long distance toll branch in S t. Louis and is one of the city's earliest survivingex an ~p lc s f a local exchange. The period of significance, 1 902- 1955. reilects the year of
constri~ctionhrough the arbitrary cutoff date for National R egister listing, although the
resource continued to serve a telecommun ications function through 1994.
ackground
Prior to Alexander G raham B ell's patent of the telephone, the only means of instant
cornnitmication available to the American public was the telegraph. During the 1870s,
the American District Telegraph Co mpan y (AD T) local office provided a dispatcher
service
in St. Louis. With the turn of the dial on a hom e machine, custom ers could relaythrough electronic imp ulse a specific, prearranged m essage. IJpon receipt of the signal, a
dispatcher w ould send o ut a runner to call and comp lete the requested task.
In November o f 1877. Alexand er Graham Bell's American Telephon e Telegraphcornpan , gran ted a license to A D T to expand the existing service with the introduction of
the com mercial teleph one in St. 1,ouis. At first, general man ager Georg e Duran t leased
equipm ent for customers' private lines. which usually connected only two locations. He
then went into the business of connecting telephone lines for direct comm unication
8/12/2019 Beaumont Telephone Exchange Building - National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
Forest Branch at 5 144 Delmar constructed in early 1904. The new exchange s were built
to accolnm odate growth in the western end o f the city, though the Forest office housed a
local switchboard only. Each was built to alleviate vo lu n ~ e t the Lindell exchang e (later
Henrj I . Wo lfner Library, NR 2-1 8-2005), downtow n offices and exchanges. and in
anticipation o f the 1904 World s air ^ Coupled with the earlier Lindell exchange. the
Eames Young branches created a discernible main artery direct from the heart of
doc\ntow n and into the burgeoning, more-affluent areas of western St. Louis. The Forest
branch is no longer extant. The Beaum ont exchange remains a s the only known,
survi\ ing exam ple of the work of Eame s Young within this commercial building type.
In late 1879. when A D T became the Bell Telephon e Company of Missouri and the
following year, the compa ny counted abo ut 600 subscribers to the new technology. A
decade later, Bell claimed so me 2885 subscribers. By 1898, there were approxim ately
5,C100 Bell subscribers in St. Louis; in 1904, there were over 2 0 ,0 0 0 . ~The rapid increase
in custom ers necessitated quick d issemination of phone lines through local exchang es.
Bell branch offices n~u ltiplied rofusely. The Sidney and Riverside exchanges o p n e d in
existing buildings in 1897. The Lindell exchan ge board was cut into service in 189 9 in a
Bell-commissioned building on Olive. In 1903. a local office and exchange opened on
south Grand Bou levard, and the following year the Benton and Ferguson exchan ges
opened. each in rented buildings. To further assist the rapidly increasing volume, the toll
board in the Beaum ont exchange was joined by a local switchboard upon branch opening.
7Thcopen tloorplan assured ample spac e for the equipmen t required for each, as the
length of the exchange w as obstructed only by suppo rt column s.
Spacinusn ess was a necessity: marketing pam phlets used by the Bell Comp anies at the
190 3 Wo rld s Fair ind icate that a typical board could run fo r over two hu ndred feet and
along three sides of a room . The elongated floorplan utilized by architects Eames
Young i n the design of the Beaum ont building provided excellent accommodation for the
sw itchboard, and also offered the appropriate space in the center of the room required for
8Southkvestern Bell Telephone Com pany. Historicul Dafrr St Loziis-Forest Qf fice. SBC Archives, San
Antc.,nio.9
E a m e s r Young s Post Office Annex ( N R 9-26-1985 also anticipated the Louisiana Purchase Exposition
of 1004. Immediately adjacent to Union S tation, the annex building expands upon the concept of the
Beaurnont telephone branch in its adaptation of a simple, elongated rectangular floorplan formatted foreftic:ienc> of exchange. One function of th e building was to expedite the exchange of baggage and n ai l via
freight train, as opposed to verbal comm unications.I0
Hi.\rotl. oft lie Telephone St. Louis Metropolitan Areu. Attachment 4 .
8/12/2019 Beaumont Telephone Exchange Building - National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
monitors. At the Fair. Bell claimed emphatically that the most up-to-date boards c ~ u l d
manag e lines from 9600 telephones and might include 4000 miles of wire, or enough if
stretched in one long line to reach from St. Louis to ~i v e r ~ o o l . Most wires were
hidden between panel and wall. A contemporary telephone exchange also included a
terminal room from w hich outside wires and lines were fed through a distribution rack,
sorted and arranged. then sent to the appropriate switchboard. Each exchang e alsoincluded a power room with g enerators that supplied electrical energy for telephone12
transmissions via storage batteries. Space within a branch building was dev oted to
em pl oj ee welfare, as well. with rest and recreation rooms provided for employees. The
re la ti ~ el com pact size of early telephone switchboard stations allowed flexibility of
building sp ace, but in twenty-five short years the acceleration of telephone technology
required a thoughtful, complem entary physical plant in which to house machinery.
The up-to-date facility and equipment of the Beaumon t exchan ge articulates not only the
extensive im provem ents in technology in the several decades since Georg e Durant's
introduction o f the telephone to St. Louis. but also the brief, and at times fierce,
comp etition between the Bell Telephone Com pany of Missouri and upstart Kinloch
Telephon e comp any. 'The new compa ny capitalized on the expiration of Durant's
original patents and began subscriptions in 1897. For over two decades, it operated a
separate service and aggressively sought to have 6,000 of its telephones to the ears of
subscribers within five years. The Wainwright B uilding (NR 5-23-1968) down tow^^ was
the first mired for the em erging com petitor in 1897. Such a prestigious early client
indicates the threat posed for Bell by the rival company. Furthermore, Kinloch
introduced a new. multiple switchboard that provided the possibility o f capacity four
times larger than the boards used by Bell. The concept was thought to decrease the need
for branch exchan ges in its initial phases, though developm ents proved this im possible
within a few years.
Subscription prices for the new service undercut those offered by Bell and thoughdifficulties em erged in the alternative switchboard d esign, Kinloch developed rapidly. By
1890 its Executive C omm ittee authorized exp ansion into long distance with the
Bell Telephone Company of Missouri. Switchboards. The Bell Telephone Companies. Development of
the Switchboard. 1904. Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis. Pamphlet. SBC Archives, San Antonio.
8
Bcll Telephone Company of Missouri. The Pul se ofa hletropolis 1909. Bell Telephone Company of
Missouri. St 1,ouis. 5
James Harrison. Histor~x fl h e Kinloch Telephone Conrpanj> July, 1933. SBC Archives, San Antonio. 2
8/12/2019 Beaumont Telephone Exchange Building - National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
United States Department of the InteriorNational Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACESCON TINUATION SHEET
Section Page 13 Beaumont Telephone ExchangeSt. Louis [Independent City], Missouri
associated. but independent, Kinloch Long Distance Com pany of Missouri. The long
lines branch contracted for exchang es as far away as Springfield, Illinois, and Jefferson
Citv j early 1904. Th e reach in distance over its own lines of Kinloch Telephon e's long
distance arm quickly acceded that of Bell Telephone Com pany. By 1905, the Kinloch
Long Distance Company consolidated with the Kinloch Telephone. As the Be au r~ nn t
Branch was placed into long distance service, the threat of competition between long
distance providers w as very palpable. The importance of a modern toll telephone
exchange w as considerable to a compan y susceptible to this direct competition.
In 1903 a Kinloch branch was constructed at 4400 Delmar-ahead of the Bell Com pany
of Missouri's nearby Forest exch ange. Kinloch also established an exchange on the
World's Fair grounds the followin g year, high-profile positioning for its services.I4 The
Kinloch and Bell lines were not connected; both com panies had independent services and
subscribers. A custom er of one compa ny could not comm unicate with those of the other
se n ice. While a few businesses subscribed to each, that arrangem ent was expensive and
nor practical. Th is escalated the rivalry. Hugh Harris, contract agen t for Bell Telepho ne
Com pany. identified the West End o f St. Louis (currently Central W est End) as the
battleground for war with ~inloch.' is weapon-of-choice in comb at was classconsciousness: he sought to make the Bell directory the social directory of St. ~ o u i s . ' ~
The Bell Com pany had ex ceptional infrastructure in the West End, with Forest connected
to the Central Exchan ge a Lindell and Beaumo nt, and toll service provided through the
latter. These western exchanges both followed and anticipated the growth in that area
of the ci tj . Com pany history credits Harris in the suppression of the Kinloch
comp etition. but the slower and more deliberate growth pattern followed by Bell
undoubtedly w as a key com ponent to success.
Though Kinloch Telephone absorbed smaller services such as Suburban Telephone and
Seclalia Home Telephone by the end of 1905, the com pan j never achieved dom inance
within the City of St. Louis. The Beaum ont exchange, an integral comp onent to thestrategicall? located east-west Bell telephone artery in West St. Louis, was an important
facior in the continued dom inance of the compan y in St. Louis. A centrally located (with
IIhid. lo.
I5C;rowth of I Service: History of'the Bell Telephone Company. SBC Archives, San Antonio. 6 ix.
6
H .\tor-r of th e Telephone, St. Louis Metropolitan Area. 2 .I 7
Kinloch Telephone Com pany's toll excha nge was in East St Louis. Though telephone technology was
advancing con siderably. distance from a subscriber to a branch could affect quality o f service.
8/12/2019 Beaumont Telephone Exchange Building - National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
United States Department of the InteriorNational Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
CON TINUATION SHEET
Section A-age 14 Beaumont Telephone ExchangeSt. Louis [Independent City] Missouri
respect to customers) long d istance office was very important in an era in which
comm unication quality suffered the further a subscriber was from the toll board. Phone
batter) power, generated at an exchange. and comm unication clarity were directly
affected bq distan ce. Hug h Harris assured that the influential West End custo me rs would
be on14 one or two exchanges removed from the Bell long distance branch, which
optimiled service.
B) 1920, Kinloch counted over 30 ,000 subscribers, fewer than a third of the phones in St.
Louis. In 1923. a merger with Southwestern Bell was consum mated. The number of
telephone stations in the city approach ed 170,000. Major additions to the Beaumont
exchange 1925 and 1927 reflect the impact of this merger. as the subscription i n c r~ a se
required a larger facility in which to operate. The expansio n of the building is also an
expression of the 1926 introduction of the dial system in S t. Louis, which contributed to
the boost in telep hon e 1ines.l dditions imm ediately post-W ar in the 1940s occurred at
the d a u n of direct dialing, yet another advance in the industry that led to a half-million
St. I.ouis customers by the early 1950s.I9 Th e physical growth of the building reflects
these general adva nces in com mun ications during the first half of the Twentieth century,
as w e l l as the consolidation and ex pansion of Southwestern Bell companies.
The name o f the Bell Telephone Co mpan y of Missouri was formally changed to the
Southwestern Telephon e Telegraph Com pany on March 22. 1913. This move was
preceded h> the transfer of exch anges operated by the Missouri and Kansas Telepho ne
Cornpan), and others in sou theast Missouri to the S t. Louis service. Over the next twenty
years. Sou thwestern Bell continued expansion with the purchase of additional telephone
comp anies. During the same period, the telephone industry across the nation experienced
similar growth, particularl~r he Bell Com panies. As the areas covered by the companies
grew to cover not just a city and its closest subu rbs but a state or a region, the Beaumont
Telephon e Exchange likew ise grew physically. with major additions to the Eames
Young building in 1921. 1925, 1927 and 1946. The Beaumont branch was retired fromuse in the early-1990s. It only served the Com munica tions industry during its Ion2
histor ). When long distance toll operations completely vacated the exchang e after the
period of significance. the building still served as a telephone com pany office, operator-
training center an d e l en regional headquarters for the Telep hone Pioneers. a Bell-
's Missouri Historical Society. The Telephone Comes to St Louis October 1953 Missouri Historical
Society. St Louis. 10.I )
Ibid . 10.
8/12/2019 Beaumont Telephone Exchange Building - National Register of Historic Places Registration Form