{"nrhp_refnum":"11000921","name":"Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania Western Headquarters Building","other_names":["Verizon Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"201 Stanwix St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pittsburgh","county":"Allegheny County","state":"PA","lat":40.44203192400005,"lon":-80.00485478199994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2011-12-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 12-story office headquarters building at the northwest corner of Stanwix Street and The Boulevard of the Allies in downtown Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, within the Gateway Center redevelopment at the western point of the Golden Triangle. It was constructed between 1956 and 1957 for the Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is a significant example of mid-century modern architecture in Pittsburgh and a significant example of the work of local architect Press C. Dowler. It is described as reflecting a transitional moment as architects embraced Modern movement principles, with a granite-clad colonnade and aluminum curtain wall. It was built as part of the Renaissance I urban renewal program that redeveloped The Point.","narrative":"Completed in 1958 at the western tip of Pittsburgh's Golden Triangle, this twelve-story office headquarters was designed by local architect Press C. Dowler, assisted by his son William C. Dowler, for the Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania. It stands within the Gateway Center, the 23-acre Renaissance I urban renewal site cleared after the city's redevelopment authority acquired the land in the 1940s. Its curtain wall of aluminum, anodized aluminum spandrels, and granite cladding forms a colonnade on Stanwix Street. The lobby features marble walls and terrazzo floors. The building cost $8.5 million and housed the company's western Pennsylvania headquarters staff. It is regarded as a significant example of mid-century modern office architecture in Pittsburgh and as a representative work of Dowler's practice, and its public interior and exterior spaces are described as largely unaltered.","period_of_significance":"1958","architect_builder":"Press C. Dowler (architect), assisted by William C. Dowler","architectural_style":"Modern Movement","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"The building was used as a Bell Telephone headquarters until 1994, later became the Verizon Building, and was sold in 2006; limited Verizon offices remained as of October 2010.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:10:27.406474-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/11000921.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/11000921/af3864d2a6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/11000921/af3864d2a6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Lee Paxton","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BellTelephoneCompanyofPittsburghPA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Lee Paxton</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BellTelephoneCompanyofPittsburghPA.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"13000252","name":"Pittsburgh Renaissance Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/pittsburgh-renaissance-historic-district-13000252/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997668","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Telephone_Company_of_Pennsylvania_Western_Headquarters_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4883274"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/allegheny-county/bell-telephone-company-of-pennsylvania-western-headquarters-building-11000921/"}