Bell Telephone Laboratories
About this property
463 West Street is a 13-building complex located on the block between West Street, Washington Street, Bank Street, and Bethune Street in Manhattan, New York City. It was originally the home of Bell Telephone Laboratories between 1898 and 1966. For a time, it was the largest industrial research center in the United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and further designated as a National Historic Landmark, as Bell Telephone Laboratories. Many early technological inventions were developed here including automatic telephone panel and crossbar switches, the first experimental talking movies (1923), black-and-white and color TV, video telephones, radar, the vacuum tube, medical equipment, the development of the phonograph record and the first commercial broadcasts, including the first broadcast of a baseball game and the New York Philharmonic with Arturo Toscanini conducting. It also served as the headquarters for the company from 1925 to the early 1960s, after which the headquarters moved to Murray Hill, New Jersey. The site was also the home for part of the Manhattan Project during World War II. After two years of renovations by Richard Meier, the building was reopened in 1970 as Westbeth Artists Community for low- to middle-income artists. In addition to affordable artist housing, the complex contains a theater, an art gallery, and a synagogue. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1975. The complex was listed a second time on the National Register in 2009, for its high-profile and successful example of adaptive reuse of the property. The southern viaduct section of the West Side Line railroad passed through the building at the second floor. This segment remains in place but is now isolated from the rest of the former railroad viaduct, which is now the High Line elevated park.
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Bell Telephone Laboratories
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Questions about this property
When was Bell Telephone Laboratories listed on the National Register?
Bell Telephone Laboratories was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 14, 1975.
What type of historic resource is Bell Telephone Laboratories?
Bell Telephone Laboratories is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
Is Bell Telephone Laboratories a National Historic Landmark?
Yes. Bell Telephone Laboratories has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.
What is the period of significance for Bell Telephone Laboratories?
The period of significance for Bell Telephone Laboratories is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Bell Telephone Laboratories?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Bell Telephone Laboratories will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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