Southern New England Telephone Company Administration Building

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Southern New England Telephone Company Administration Building
Southern New England Telephone Company Administrative Building in New Haven, October 17, 2008.jpg
Southern New England Telephone Company Administration Building is located in Connecticut
Southern New England Telephone Company Administration Building
Location within Connecticut
Alternative namesThe Eli
General information
StatusComplete
TypeMixed-Use
Architectural styleArt Deco
Location227 Church Street
New Haven Connecticut
Coordinates41°18′33″N 72°55′25″W / 41.30917°N 72.92361°W / 41.30917; -72.92361Coordinates: 41°18′33″N 72°55′25″W / 41.30917°N 72.92361°W / 41.30917; -72.92361
Construction started1937
Topped-out1938
Estimated completion1938
Height
Antenna spire230 ft (70 m)
Roof196 ft (60 m)[1]
Technical details
Floor count17
Floor area45,720 square metres (492,100 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architect, Douglas Orr
Main contractorDwight Building Company
Southern New England Telephone Company Administrative Building
NRHP reference No.97001447[2]
Added to NRHPNovember 24, 1997

The Eli, formerly the Southern New England Telephone Company Administration Building, is a skyscraper at 227 Church Street in downtown New Haven, Connecticut. Completed in 1938, it is the city's finest example of Art Deco architecture, and was headquarters to the Southern New England Telephone Company (SNET), which oversaw the building of the state's telephone networks. Designed by Douglas Orr and , it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.[2]

Description and history[]

The Eli is located at the junction of Church and Wall Streets in downtown New Haven, one block north of the New Haven Green in the city's commercial business district. It has seventeen stories, and is built out of a steel frame whose exterior is clad mainly in Indiana granite. A low pink granite wall delineates the property line on Church Street. It rises as a rectangular monolith for thirteen floors, with the upper stories stepped back in stages. The two street-facing facades have two-story entrance pavilions that project. The Art Deco styling includes designs and depictions related to communications, including Classical style human figures wielding lightning bolts. The interior lobby area, also two stories in height, continues these themes, and is richly finished in a variety of materials.[3]

The former headquarters of the Southern New England Telephone Company (SNET), the Art Deco building was completed in 1938, and was the tallest building in the city until 1966 (it is currently the tenth-tallest building in New Haven's skyline). Some 1,200 SNET employees worked in the office building after its completion. The company was one of New Haven's largest employers, and was responsible for the growth of the telephone system in the entire state.[3] Beginning in 2004, the building was converted to a luxury apartment building and rechristened "The Eli"; it now is home to 142 apartments and two storefronts.[4][5]

The building is regarded as New Haven's "premier" example of Art Deco architecture, and displays one of the area's most extensive employment of Stony Creek pink granite.[3]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ New Haven Skyscraper Diagram - SkyscraperPage.com
  2. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  3. ^ a b c Bruce Clouette and Hoang Tinh (July 11, 1997). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Southern New England Telephone Company Administration Building". National Park Service. and Accompanying 12 photos, exterior and interior
  4. ^ Former SNET building finds new tenants- The New Haven Register - Serving New Haven, Connecticut
  5. ^ Luxury apartments dress up downtown housing options | Yale Daily News
Preceded by Tallest Building in New Haven
1938—1966
60 m
Succeeded by
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