National Register of Historic Places

Oficina de Telegrafo y Telefono

Guaynabo, Guaynabo County, Puerto Rico
Listed
July 2, 2012
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
12000396

About this property

The Telephone and Telegraph Station of Guaynabo (Spanish: Oficina de Telégrafo y Teléfono de Guaynabo) is a one-story flat roof building located in the downtown (pueblo) area of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. It was designed in the Art Deco style and constructed entirely of reinforced concrete with glass blocks and ornamental ironwork. It is one of the few (private or public) buildings in the island built entirely in this architectural style. It was added to the United States National Register of Historic Places on July 3, 2012. The Telegraph and Telephone Station of Guaynabo was constructed in 1948, and since then it has become a significant piece in the history of telecommunications in Guaynabo. It was one of three identical Art Deco buildings of a prototype that combine both the telegraph and telephone services under one roof. This solid, modern and permanent building prototype was designed by the Department of the Interior of Puerto Rico for the installation of the automatic telephone and established in the towns of Juncos, Aibonito and Guaynabo. These buildings gave a new recognizable physical form to both the telephone company and the telegraph station in the island. Constructed between 1943 and 1949, they were also the entities that connected the people of Puerto Rico with the rest of the world. This is one of the two that still remain of those built by the Communications Authority of Puerto Rico’s office facilities, and the only one still existing of the three that was constructed of the Art Deco prototype. The building today houses the Telegraph Museum, which is administered by the municipal government of Guaynabo. The Telegraph Museum aims to preserve the history of this invention and the history of communications in Puerto Rico.

Location

1729 Jose E. Carazo
Guaynabo, Guaynabo County, Puerto Rico
18.35991, -66.11053

Categories

ARCHITECTURECOMMUNICATIONS
National Register nomination ›
Sources

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.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Iglesia Parroquial de San Pedro Martir de Guaynabo
Industrial
0.2 mi
General Norzagaray Bridge
Industrial
1.3 mi
Edificio Victory Garden
Civil War
3.3 mi
Puerto Rico Island Penitentiary
Industrial
3.4 mi
Casa Dr. Agustin Stahl Stamm
Industrial
4 mi

Nearby Battles

Naval Bombardment of San Juan (Puerto Rico)
1898Frontier
7.3 mi
Ponce de León Conquest of Puerto Rico 1508
1508Colonial
7.3 mi
Carib Raids on Puerto Rico 1514–1530
1514Colonial
7.3 mi
Bombardment of San Juan (Puerto Rico 1898)
1898Frontier
7.3 mi

Questions about this property

When was Oficina de Telegrafo y Telefono listed on the National Register?

Oficina de Telegrafo y Telefono was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 2, 2012.

What type of historic resource is Oficina de Telegrafo y Telefono?

Oficina de Telegrafo y Telefono is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Oficina de Telegrafo y Telefono?

The period of significance for Oficina de Telegrafo y Telefono is recorded as the industrial era.

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