Bell Laboratories Building (Manhattan)

Infobox nrhp
name = Bell Telephone Laboratories
nrhp_type = nhl

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caption =
location = 463 West Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York
nearest_city =
lat_degrees = 40 | lat_minutes = 44 | lat_seconds = 11.8 | lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 74 | long_minutes = 0 | long_seconds = 35| long_direction = W
area =
built = 1861-1898
architect = Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz and others
architecture =
designated = May 15, 1975 cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1548&ResourceType=Building|title=Bell Telephone Laboratories|date=2007-09-08|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service]
added = May 15, 1975 cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]
visitation_num =
visitation_year =
refnum = 75001202
mpsub =
governing_body = Westbeth Artists Community

463 West Street is a 13 building complex located on the block between West Street, Washington Street, Bank Street, and Bethune Street in Manhattan, New York. It was originally the home of Bell Telephone Laboratories between 1898 and 1966. For a time, it was the largest industrial research center in the United States.

Many early technological inventions were developed here [ [http://www.nr.nps.gov/writeups/75001202.nl.pdf Bell Telephone Laboratories, National Historic Landmark writeup] ] , including the first experimental talking movies (1923), black and white and color TV, radar, the vacuum tube, the transistor, medical equipment, the development of the phonograph record and the first commercial broadcasts including the first broadcast of a baseball game and the New York Philharmonic with Toscanini conducting. It also served as the headquarters for the company from 1925 to the early 1960's. [ [http://www.corp.att.com/history/milestone_1925.html ATT history] ]

The site was also the home for part of the Manhattan Project during World War II.

After two years of renovations by Richard Meier, the building was reopened in 1970 as Westbeth Artists Community, a haven for low to middle income artists.

It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1975.citation|title=PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/66000572.pdf National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Bell Telephone Laboratories] |394 KB|author=James Sheire|date=March 5, 1975|publisher=National Park Service]

References