AT&T Building
General information
TypeOffices
Location240 North Meridian Street
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Coordinates39°46′15.34″N 86°09′30.36″W / 39.7709278°N 86.1584333°W / 39.7709278; -86.1584333
Completed1932
Height
Roof321 ft (98 m)
Technical details
Floor count22

The AT&T Building is a high rise located at 240 North Meridian Street in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was opened in 1932 and is 22 stories tall. It is primarily used for office space and is the headquarters for AT&T in Indiana. The AT&T Building is connected to 220 Meridian (formerly known as the AT&T 220 Building), located directly south. The building has been expanded and has achieved its present form only after a few iterations.

Central Union Telephone Company building

The old headquarters in the middle of being moved

The Central Union Telephone Company built a headquarters building on the corner of Meridian and New York Streets in 1907. Indiana Bell bought Central Union in 1929, but found the existing headquarters inadequate. Originally, the old building was to be demolished to make way for a new building on the site. However, that would have caused disruptions in telephone service. Kurt Vonnegut Sr., the architect of the new building, suggested moving it[1] to the adjacent lot at 13 West New York Street.[2]

Over a 30-[2] or 34-day[1] period, the 11,000-short-ton (10,000 t) building was shifted 52 feet (16 m) south, rotated 90 degrees, and then shifted again 100 feet (30 m) west. Completed on November 12[2] or 14, 1930,[1] this was all done without interrupting customer telephone service or telephone business operations.[2] Gas, heat, electric, water, and communication lines were modified before and during construction to add flexibility or length as needed.

The new headquarters was completed in 1932, and was seven stories tall. It was later expanded in the 1940s and 1960s to bring it to its current size and height. The original building that had been moved was demolished in 1963.[3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Retro Indy: Rotating the Indiana Bell building". The Indianapolis Star. Archived from the original on April 14, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "11,000-Ton Bell Telephone. Firm; Building Completes "Journey"". The Indianapolis News. November 13, 1930. p. 25. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  3. ↑ David J. Bodenhamer; Robert Graham Barrows; David Gordon Vanderstel (1994). The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-31222-8. Retrieved April 7, 2009.
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