Key Number:	HS 55893
Site Name:	North Telephone Exchange
Other Names:
Site Type:	1201 - Communications: Telephone Building

Location

ATS Legal Description:

			Twp	Rge	Mer
			52	24	4

Address:	10105 - 112 Avenue NW
Number:	5
Street:	101 NW
Avenue:	112 NW
Other:
Town:	Edmonton
Near Town:

Media

Type	Number	Date	View	Source

Architectural

Style:
Plan Shape:	Rectangular Long Facade
Storeys:	Storeys: 2
Foundation:	Basement/Foundation Wall Material: Brick
Superstructure:	Brick
Superstructure Cover:
Roof Structure:	Flat
Roof Cover:
Exterior Codes:	Massing of Units: Single Detached Wings: Unknown Wall Design and Detail: None Plain Eaves Roof Trim Material - Eaves: Unknown Roof Trim - Verges: Not Applicable Roof Trim Material - Verges: Unknown Towers, Steeples and Domes: None Dormer Type: None Chimney Location - Side to Side: Unknown Roof Trim - Special Features: None Window - Structural Opening Shape: Flat Window - Trim Outside Structural Opening - Head: Keystone Window - Trim Outside Structural Opening - Sides: Plain Window - Trim Outside Structural Opening - Material: Wood Window - Sill Type: Plain Slip Sill Window - Sill Material: Wood Window - Trim Within Structural Opening - Head: Plain Window - Trim Within Structural Opening - Sides: Plain Window - Number of Sashes: One Window - Opening Mechanism: Single or Double Hung Window - Special Types: Half-Round Window - Pane Arrangements: 2 over 2 Main Entrance - Location: Centre (Facade) Main Entrance - Structural Opening Shape: Flat Main Entrance - Trim Outside Structural Opening - Head: Plain Flat Main Entrance - Trim Outside Structural Opening - Sides: Plain Main Entrance - Trim Outside Structural Opening Material: Wood Main Entrance - Trim Within Structural Opening - Head: Plain Main Entrance - Trim Within Structural Opening - Sides: Plain Main Entrance - Number of Leaves: 1 Main Entrance - Number of Panels Per Leaf: 1 Main Entrance - Leaves - Special Feature: Glass Main Stairs - Location and Design: None Main Porch - Type: Closed Porch Main Porch - Special Features: None Main Porch - Material: Concrete
Exterior:	Entablature; parapet gable ends; belt course; semicircular window with keystone voussoir; lugsill Raised parapets; metal cornice at roof line and above first floor; arched attic window with key stone; double hung wodden sash; six over one windows. The two storey brick building contains a ground level basement with a concrete floor separating the two floors. The horizontal stone banding at the main floor, the wraparound projecting metal cornice line at the second floor and the distinctive stone capped, raised and segmented parapet walls at the east and west gable ends facades. Distinctive multi-panel, arched windows at either end of the building are clearly articulated with brick headers, keystones and stone sills. At the west elevation there is a rather functional, yet attractive penetration of the exterior brick wall that allowed for the lifting and replacement of the original telephone apparatus. Although the paired wood doors have been removed and replaced with a window, the original hoist beam and upper glazed window transom remain intact. The exterior structure of the building consists of massive load-bearing red pressed brick walls at the basement level.
Interior:	The Telephone Exchange Building provided facilities for the telephone equipment, switch and line construction crews and the local pay station office. The basement contained a large workroom for the outside construction men, a furnace room, battery and engine rooms, the pay station office and employee washrooms. The main floor held station apparatus and sleeping accommodation for the night operator. The surviving original interior finishing elements include stained oak window sashes and trims, a fire hose and standpipe system, cast iron radiators, and a number of oak doors and trims. The fitted casement type windows at the main floor allowed for necessary cross ventilation, which cooled off the work place, as well as the telephone exchange apparatus and equipment.
Environment:	Neighbourhood: Spruce Avenue Corner location. The Telephone Exchange Building is located on the corner of 101 Street and 112 Avenue. It is a conspicuous and familiar structure in the neighbourhood. It has acquired special sentimental value in the context of the city due to its role as the Historical Exhibits Building and the subsequent Archives facility located at this site. At the time of construction the building was sited in a sparsely developed part of the city, with very few single-family homes located nearby. The nearest major building was the Royal Alexandra Hospital (1911; demolished in 1990). The site context and visual relationship of the Exchange Building conrasts with scale, massing and materials of the single family houses to the north and west. Nearby public buildings such as the fire hall and church on 101 Street relate more directly with the Telephone Exchange Building in terms of height and scale. The minimal building setback along 101 Street reinforces the visual difference of this building to the surrounding streetscape and predominantly residential neighbourhood.
Condition:	Good
Alterations:	Aluminum front door and entry. Renovations were made on the ground floor and second floor to upgrade the heating and mechanical systems. New entry doors and modern flat roof canopy were added to the north facade in the early 1970s. Flooring, interior walls, ceilings, hardware and fittings have been replaced or covered with more modern finishing elements. New partitions were added to both the basement and main floors as part of the early museum conversion (late 1950s) and City Archives renovations (1974). A new stair was constructed at the north entry and a storage vault was added as part of this renovation. These significant interior changes have resulted in compartmentalized spaces on both floors. At the main floor ceiling level, the original high and open trussed roof structure has been concealed behind an insulated, suspended wood ceiling. While the original heating boiler is still in operation, it has been supplemented with additional ventilation and humidification systems in the basement. The boiler is covered with an asbestos insulation. New entry doors and a modern flat roofed canopy have been added at the north facade to act as a main entry point to the building. These components have changed the original appearance and character of the elevation. The orignal main entrance to the building was a single door at the east facade on 101 Street. At the west facade a section of the original brick wall has been opened up to allow for a loading dock with a ramp leading into the basement level. The ramp and adjacent rail are asymmentrical to the original building composition.

Historical

Construction:	Construction Date:
Construction Started	1912/01/01
Usage:	Usage Date:
Telephone Exchange Archives	1914/01/01 1973/08/01
Owner:	Owner Date:
Alex Taylor

Architect:	City of Edmonton
Builder:	Purcell and Foote
Craftsman:	N/A
History:	Address also known as 11158 - 101 Street. 1881 - Alex Taylor starts first telephone service in Edmonton. 1904 - City of Edmonton purchases Taylor's phone company. 1908 - Manual switching system replaced by Strowger automatic system. 1912-4 - June. Building permit #1332 issued. 1949 - West end Telephone Exchange extended. 1958 - North Telephone Exchange vacant. 1960 - Edmonton Exhibits Building opens. 1973 - City of Edmonton Archives opens. 1974 - Renovation to the interior and mechanical systems. In 1881 Alex Taylor began Edmonton's first telephone service. This early system, known as the manual magnetic system, used the crank of the telephone to signal the operator who completed the connection with the required party. The service was slow and by 1904 the system was congested with over 500 phones in service. A new system was needed to supply the increasing demand for service. The City of Edmonton purchased Taylor's phone company in 1904 with the intention of operting it as a municipal utility. The civic administration investigated both manual and automatic switching systems and concluded that the Strowger automatic system was the most modern and economical. By 1908 the manual system was replaced with 1,500 lines of the Strowger three-wire equipment. (The system was further modernized in 1927, when the three-wire automatic switchboard was changed to a two-wire system). The introduction of the automatic telephone system was a significant technological event in the city. It was the first system to have the potential for estensive expansion, the essential feature of a metropolitan system. Many cities in eastern Canada did not install automatic exchanges until the 1920s. The City of Edmonton experienced unprecedented growth in the period prior to 1912, and was faced with the difficult task of providing adequate municipal services to its citizens. Two new telephone exchanges were constructed in 1912 in the north (focused upon in this report) and west districts to serve these rapidly growing areas. To save costs, both exchanges were identical in their design. Initially they contained equipment to serve 1,000 subscribers with room for expansion to 2,000 as demand increased. The west end Telephone Exchange Building (10165-121 Street) was expanded to accommodate additional equipment in 1949 and remains in use today. The north Telephone Exchange Building (10105-112 Avenue) operated until 1958. The Telephone Exchange Buildings were designed by Allen Merrick Jeffers (1875-1926) in 1912. Jeffers received his training in architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design and in the Providence office of G.W. Cady and Sons, Architects. Jeffers arrived in Edmonton in 1907 and the same year was appointed Provincial Architect. Following his work for the Alberta Government, Jeffers became the Edmonton Municipal Architect (1912-14). As City Architect, he designed a number of municipal buildings including the Telephone Exchange Buildings, the Civic Block (1912; refaced in 1962) and the Court House (1911; demolished in 1972). Jeffers became a member of the Alberta Association of Architects in 1914. He practised privately in Edmonton until 1922, when he moved to Prince Rupert and then on to Los Angeles, California in 1923. Jeffers was the designer of the Alberta Legislature Building (1907-13), Government House (1913), Athabasca Hall at the University of Alberta (1911), the Calgary Normal School (1908) and the Wetaskiwin Court House (1907). The building was constructed by the local contracting firm of Purcell and Foote at a cost of $21,000. The Telephone Exchange Building on the north side became too small as the city grew and expanded northward. In 1958 the telephone company vacated the building and it was acquired by the City of Edmonton Archives and Landmark Committee. In 1966 the operation of the building came under the jurisdiction of the city of Edmonton Parks and Recreation. The museum continued to operate in the Exhibits Building until 1973, when the facility became the City of Edmonton Archives. The Telephone Exchange Building was designed in a simplified version of the Renaissance Revival style. The buildings shares these design and detailing similarities with the Wetaskiwin Provincial Court House (1907), also designed by Jeffers. Painted exterior plaster wall finishes are in good original condition. The night operator's bedroom at the southwest corner of the main floor area contains original and complete finishes and details. The open equipment layout and original function of the Exchange building has been altered since the time of construction. RESOURCE 1913 City of Edmonton Telephone Exchange Building / Former City of Edmonton Archives ADDRESS 10105 – 112 Avenue, Edmonton BUILT 1912 DESIGNATION STATUS Registered Historic Resource HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE One of the oldest surviving civic buildings in Edmonton, this building is closely associated with the development of city services. It was constructed in 1912-13 to house the telephone exchange for North Edmonton, according to plans drawn up by Allan Merrick Jeffers, the City of Edmonton’s Chief Architect. Although not one of Jeffer’s best known buildings – he was also the architect for the Alberta Legislative Assembly Building, several courthouses and numerous schools – it is one of the last remaining buildings constructed under his guidance for the city of Edmonton. Aside from its architectural interest, the building also has historical value through its association with the City of Edmonton Telephone Company, which was founded in 1904 as one of the first municipal utilities in the province. The building continued to house a functional exchange until 1937, when it was turned into a repair shop. In 1958 the city assumed control of the building which was used to house historical exhibits from 1960 to 1972. Although never formally developed as a civic museum, it was used from 1972 until the 1990s to house the City of Edmonton Archives.

Internal

Designation Status:	Designation Date:
Municipal Historic Resource	1993/09/14

Register:	A90

Links

Internet:
Alberta Register of Historic Places: