Architect: Unknown
Great Neck
Erected in 1929 The Telephone building is five bays wide, ten bays long, and two stories tall. Its plan is rectangular with a small open courtyard at the back of the building. Despite its low massing, a strong vertical emphasis created by its Art Deco features, including the pilaster-like projections that dominate the Barstow and Welwyn façades. Orange iron-spot brickwork is laid in geometric and stylized patterns typical of the Art Deco style, including chevron and zigzags. A transom with zigzag panes is over the front door (the door is not original). The original four-over-four steel double-hung windows are extant. The hipped copper roof is set back behind a parapet topped with stone copings. The gabled Art Deco dormers are situated over the receding surfaces of the central bays and underscore the style’s verticality. Low granite stairs lead to the main entrance.
Construction was completed in November 1929. The new building was designed to service Great Neck, Port Washington, Manhasset, and the Imperial central office districts. Lines and desks were installed about December 15, 1929. The business office opened to the public on April 28, 1930. Service was scheduled to begin May 19, 1930. The building included “a manual switchboard of the latest type with positions for thirty operators.” It also included office space for local staff and a public business office. The design was intended to allow for additions of up to six stories, and space at the back of the lot was meant for the erection of an annex when the growth of the community required an increase in service. Effort was made to ensure that the design conformed to the “high class residential character of Great Neck” and to preserve the trees on the site. The architectural firm of Vorhees, Gemelin and Walker designed many buildings for the New York Telephone Company during the late 1920s, and further research should be undertaken to determine if they designed this building as well.
Source: http://www.greatneckplaza.net/historic/vsurvey.php?p=telephone
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