Old Southern New England Telephone Co. Headquarters

Introduction



Situated on a short commercial block of Court Street between Orange Street and State Street, historically, the high-rise 126 Court Street office Building had been general and executive headquarters of Southern New England Telephone Company since late 19th century. The Southern New England Telephone Company was incorporated and in 1889 bought its first real estate that occupied what is now 124 to 126 Court Street, but the original building was what appeared to be Chicago-style 3 stories decorated with Romanesque-arched windows and had base-middle-head structure for a facade. The old office was demolished to give room for a 10-story office building of Beaux Arts Classical style. Designed by Leoni W. Robinson, the building towered over its neighborhood when it was first erected in 1918 (construction begun in 1916) and was the tallest building in New Haven. The Federal office building stands just west of it.



Building and Style



When first built in 1916, the Beaux Arts Classical building tower was 10 stories high and square in floor plan and its exterior was surprisingly plain in appearance compared to other buildings of same architectural style (e.g. Union Station in New Haven, Grand Central Station in New York City). Despite its simplicity, it nevertheless carries obvious characteristics of Beaux Arts decoration, such as, symmetry, flat rooftop, cartouche (oval or oblong design with a slightly concave) on the first floor windows, garland, a decorative cord, around the edge of it, and balusters (also known as spindles, stair sticks) on the roof top.



Expansion and Alteration



The building went through significant alteration in 1929. The redesign of the building was done by Roy W. Foote and carried out by Dwight Building Company: two additional stories were added and a small building occupying the street-side location was demolished. A 12-story wing was also added to the original square building, giving it an L-shaped plan. It’s longtime occupant, Southern New England Telephone Company’s ultimate plan was to expand its headquarter on 126 Court Street 3 times as big as it was, but the plan was since abandoned. In 1937 Southern New England Telephone Company outgrew its space in the building and moved to a larger building oat 223 Church Street. The Art Deco new headquarter was designed by Douglas Orr and Roy W. Foote which then became the tallest building in its days. In 1955, aluminum sheathing was added to protect the building from moisture.



Southern New England Telephone Company and the building



Southern New England Telephone Company has been the major occupant of 126 Court Street building tower since its erection in 1916. During 1888, SNET Company purchased its first piece of real estate, a lot on Court Street, and during 1889 completed the erection of a 3-story general office building, the third floor of which became the quarters of the operating room in New Haven division. This was subsequently enlarged and served as general headquarter. Spacious as the new headquarter seemed, it was soon evident that with the demand for telephone services constantly increasing, a separate building would be required in New Haven for the operating and maintenance forces. In 1902, work was started on a building in Pitkin Street (which was then south of Court Street, between Orange and State Street and now no longer exists), and in 1904 the city of New Haven was served from the new building. In 1917, again, the company found itself needing more room and the roof of the Pitkin Street building was raised to make a third floor. In the spring of 1916, construction of a 10-story building, the first unit of an ultimate three section building of 12 stories was begun at the Court Street location, and was occupied in October 1917. Early in 1927, 2 stories were added to this first unit to equal in height with the adjacent second unit of 12 stories which was the in the process of construction. There two 12-story units comprise the then operating building at 114 Court Street. In February 1937, after the demolition of three old buildings, SNET Company started excavate staff from Court Street building to the new building on 223 Church Street. When the company moved its offices to the new building, the Court Street building tower was converted entirely to electronic switching operations. The sheathing was added in 1955 to protect the equipment from moisture which was penetrating the masonry facade. The building became obsolete in the 1970s with the construction of the SNET Co. building at the corner of Court and State Streets.



Redevelopment under Urban Development Action Grant (UDAG)



In early 1980s, Development Corporation of Greenwich, CT. called for the restoration of the 1929 facade and the conversion of interior space to commercial and residential uses. For the period January 1980 to June 1984, the City of New Haven saw a dramatic rise in the level of new investments occurring throughout the downtown area. Within this period, approximately $209 million dollars has been invested in downtown New Haven and immediate vicinity, $55 million was under construction, and $48 million was scheduled for construction within the following six months. Over $300 million dollars would be invested in the center city by early 1984. The Center Court project, receiving $6.7 million dollars which would be invested in the conversion of the SNET Company building at 126 Court Street, was to begin in the spring of 1984. The first 3 floors of the building would be shops and offices, the upper floors would yield 74 market-rate apartment units, 12 of which would be subsidized by the project’s cash flow and made available to low and moderate income tenants. A landscaped court would be created at the rear of the building. The project had the support of the City and the Downtown Council as well as SNET Company. Developer for Center Court was Landmark Development Corporation of America in collaboration of Maitland.Staus/Behr of Greenwich Developer.