Bell Atlantic, Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company
You are here
Verizon
1929, Voorhees, Gmelin and Walker; later additions. 703 E. Grace St.
Designed by the New York firm that captured most of the East Coast telephone building market in the 1920s and 1930s, this building is a nice example of their work in the Art Deco style. Ralph Walker, the main designer for the firm, liked to create dramatic profiles against the skyline. A light-colored limestone base sets off brick upper walls that have a pier-buttress articulation with recessed windows. One end of the building has a pyramidal roof sheathed in decorative lead. Limestone, carved with rich floral decoration, also appears at the cornice level. Unfortunately, later additions have masked some of the drama of the original building.
Writing Credits
If SAH Archipedia has been useful to you, please consider supporting it.
SAH Archipedia tells the story of the United States through its buildings, landscapes, and cities. This freely available resource empowers the public with authoritative knowledge that deepens their understanding and appreciation of the built environment. But the Society of Architectural Historians, which created SAH Archipedia with University of Virginia Press, needs your support to maintain the high-caliber research, writing, photography, cartography, editing, design, and programming that make SAH Archipedia a trusted online resource available to all who value the history of place, heritage tourism, and learning.