- AT&T Huron Road Building
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View from the Terminal Tower observation deck
The AT&T Huron Road Building (formally known as the Ohio Bell Building) is an art deco skyscraper located at 750 Huron Road in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It serves as the corporate headquarters for Ohio Bell, a regional telephone company owned by AT&T. The building has 24 stories and rises to a height of 365 ft (111 m).[1] It was designed by the firm of Hubbell and Benes, in what they called "Modern American Perpendicular Gothic", a style influenced by Eliel Saarinen's unrealized design for the Tribune Tower in Chicago. Work on the building began in 1925 and was completed in 1927 at a cost of $5 million.[2] It was briefly the tallest building in Cleveland, surpassed in 1928 by the Terminal Tower.
The building's current owners claim that Superman co-creator Joe Shuster used it as the model for the Daily Planet building, but Shuster himself denied that Cleveland provided any visual inspiration for Metropolis.[3]
In 1964, Ohio Bell moved into the new Erieview Tower. The Huron Road building was retained as a telephone switching center for Downtown Cleveland. Today the Huron Road building has been expanded for DSL service for Cleveland. In 1983, Ohio Bell moved into its current location at 45 Erieview.
The Huron Road Building was built for necessity. Ohio Bell had its switching center on Michigan Avenue (now vacated) from 1890 to 1927. This building had to be vacated due to the construction of the Terminal Tower complex. During construction some 10,000 miles of lines and switches were moved from Michigan Avenue to the current Huron Complex.
See also
References
- ^ Emporis.com: Ohio Bell Huron Building. Accessed 2007-05-26.
- ^ Johannesen, Eric. Cleveland Architecture, 1976-1976, Western Reserve Historical Society, 1979. pp. 149-150.
- ^ CTV.ca: "Superman co-creator has humble Canadian roots". Accessed 2007-07-25.
External links
Coordinates: 41°29′53.3″N 81°41′11″W / 41.498139°N 81.68639°W
Preceded by
Huntington Bank BuildingTallest Building in Cleveland
1927—1930
111mSucceeded by
Terminal TowerCategories:- Art Deco skyscrapers
- Skyscrapers in Cleveland, Ohio
- 1927 architecture
- Skyscrapers between 100 and 149 meters
- AT&T buildings
- Art Deco architecture in Ohio
- Telephone exchange buildings
- Telecommunications buildings in the United States
- Ohio building and structure stubs
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