place

Telephone Co. Building (Grand Forks, North Dakota)

1904 establishments in North DakotaBuildings designated early commercial in the National Register of Historic PlacesCommercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in North DakotaInfrastructure completed in 1904Lumen Technologies
National Register of Historic Places in Grand Forks, North DakotaNorth Dakota Registered Historic Places stubsTelecommunications buildings on the National Register of Historic PlacesTelephone exchange buildingsUse mdy dates from August 2023Vernacular architecture in North Dakota
Telephone Building Grand Forks, ND
Telephone Building Grand Forks, ND

The Telephone Co. Building in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States, was built in 1904. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. It includes Early Commercial, "Vernacular-Classical Detail", and other architecture.When listed the property included just the one contributing building on an area of less than 1 acre (0.40 ha).The listing is described in its North Dakota Cultural Resources Survey document.Along with Wright Block, the Clifford Annex, the Dinnie Block, and Golden Square, the Telephone Co. Building was one of many "commercial vernacular brick buildings with classical revival details" that were built during a major building boom, with high quality brickwork. It was built in 1904 by the Northwestern Telephone Exchange Company, which later became Northwestern Bell. This replaced a previous exchange that was located on the fourth floor of an office building, which had some accessibility problems. A 1901 author pointed out that the cable ran into the office from a nearby pole and was unsightly, and that the wiring inside the building was not very orderly either. The building was rather crowded. The company was in the process of buying a lot for the new exchange building.: 37 

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Telephone Co. Building (Grand Forks, North Dakota) (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Telephone Co. Building (Grand Forks, North Dakota)
1st Avenue North, Grand Forks

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Telephone Co. Building (Grand Forks, North Dakota)Continue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 47.925277777778 ° E -97.031944444444 °
placeShow on map

Address

1st Avenue North
58206 Grand Forks
North Dakota, United States
mapOpen on Google Maps

Telephone Building Grand Forks, ND
Telephone Building Grand Forks, ND
Share experience

Nearby Places

R.S. Blome Granitoid Pavement in Grand Forks
R.S. Blome Granitoid Pavement in Grand Forks

R.S. Blome Granitoid Pavement is a historic road surface, as well as the associated cut sandstone curbs in a few sections, found in three of the oldest residential sections of Grand Forks, North Dakota. It is a Portland cement–aggregate combination that was intended to bridge the gap between the needs of Horse-drawn vehicles, which required sure footing, and automobiles, which needed a hard, resilient surface, in the earliest part of the 20th century. R.S. Blome Granitoid was made from a mixture of Portland cement and angular granite chips along with other stone and sand, laid down over an appropriately arched prepared road bed followed by a six-inch layer of loose gravel (macadam). It was laid in five-foot sections which were sealed at the joints with an asphalt and rubber mix to allow for expansion. Another intended benefit of laying the pavement in these sections was that it allowed for removal of only necessary portions for utility work. However it would appear that this intention was ignored as indicated by the presence of utility cuts and mismatched concrete and asphalt patching in the Grand Forks examples. Over these sections was laid a two-inch finish layer of Portland cement and carefully screened angular granite chips measuring between 1/8 and 3/8 of an inch. Angular chips of granite were specified over rounded river gravel to ensure a firm bond and prohibit the dislodging of gravel common to concrete. As the surface dried it was brushed and scored to resemble cut stone, providing a good non-slip surface for horses. Though the Blome Company patent specified a gridded pattern of scoring, the Grand Forks pavement exhibits a running bond pattern. Also surviving are a number of bronze name plates embedded into the paving surface which read "Established 1888. GRANITOID. R.S. Blome. Chicago. 1907." This pavement type was selected after a lively discussion by city residents as a solution to the problem of ankle-deep mud which was an annual result of the spring thaw and rains. The residents determined to have a quality pavement that would last long "after it was paid for". Their choice has been validated as the Granitoid is still quite serviceable and well suited to modern automobile traffic after nearly a century of use. Out of several extant locations where Blome Granitoid has been found, such as Duluth, Minnesota, Calumet, Michigan and Spokane and Seattle, Washington, there are several characteristics which make the Grand Forks sections particularly significant. There is more surviving Granitoid and the associated brass name plates in Grand Forks, encompassing a number of streets in three distinct neighborhoods, than in any of the other locations. Another important difference is the aforementioned use of the running bond pattern in the scoring, which is unique among all of the remaining examples. It suggests a desire among the residents for an aesthetic, as well as functional, pavement.A 55-acre (22 ha) area was listed on the National Register in 1991. However, the listing was modified in 2010 to decrease the listed area.