{"nrhp_refnum":"02000227","name":"Bell Telephone Exchange Building","other_names":["Preston Telephone Exchange"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"8-12 N. Preston St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.95788189700005,"lon":-75.20368788499997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2002-03-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Communications","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A former telephone exchange building at 8-12 North Preston Street in West Philadelphia, built about 1900 by Bell Telephone of Philadelphia and known as the Preston Exchange. It is a three-and-a-half-story Georgian Revival town-house style brick building.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is significant for its role in the development of telephone communication in Philadelphia and for its competition with the Keystone Telephone Company across the street, under the broad patterns of history criterion. It is also argued to be significant architecturally for its Georgian Revival design, which was adapted to telephone use and blended with surrounding residences.","narrative":"Built about 1900 by Bell Telephone of Philadelphia, this three-and-a-half-story brick building at 8-12 North Preston Street in West Philadelphia was designed in the Georgian Revival town-house pattern, with Flemish-bond brickwork, granite keystones and sills, and a deep tin cornice. It operated as the Preston Telephone Exchange until 1928, with switchboards housed in its open upper floors. Telephone cables embedded in the basement wall remain visible. The building is important for its connection to the early telephone industry and to the rivalry between Bell and the independent Keystone Telephone Company, whose exchange stood directly across North Preston Street. After 1928 the open floors were adapted for light industrial use, and the building retains its original design and materials.","period_of_significance":"1900-1928","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Georgian Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Used as a telephone exchange until 1928, then converted to light industrial use; the document also notes a missing third-story cornice and windows blocked in the 1980s.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:37.907398-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/02000227.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02000227/b28e695b0c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02000227/b28e695b0c-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Telephone_Building_Philly.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Telephone_Building_Philly.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997446","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Telephone_Exchange_Building_(Powelton_Village,_Philadelphia,_Pennsylvania)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4883275"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/bell-telephone-exchange-building-02000227/"}