(Former) New York and New Jersey Telephone and Telegraph Building

Designated June 29, 2004

Founded in 1883, the New York and New Jersey Telephone and Telegraph Company served the ever-increasing populations of Long Island, Staten Island and northern New Jersey. This elaborate and elegantly designed Beaux Arts style building served as a major statement of the company’s expansion in the area. The company installed and maintained telephone wires and provided telephone service to more than 16,000 subscribers in 1897 when this building was constructed.

Designed by leading Brooklyn architect Rudolphe L. Daus, the building’s distinctive ornamentation establishes a strong presence on this busy street comer. Daus drew on his classical French training to create a dramatic structure, epitomized by the rounded comer accented by an elaborate cartouche and a deep, projecting cornice. These design features are balanced by oversized arches resting on engaged columns and broad rustication of the lower floors.

*Excerpt from the Landmarks Preservation Commission designation report

STATUS Designated Individual Landmarks

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Doreen Gallo: DUMBO Neighborhood Alliance

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“Use HDC as a resource because they know what they are doing and can offer advice on how to go about creating a district from every front: architectural, political, LPC, and the media. I had floundered prior to my involvement with this invaluable organization.”

Fern Luskin: Lamartine Place Historic District; Friends of Lamartine Place & Gibbons Underground Railroad Site

Local Voices

“HDC provided guidance and shared information during that process—we knew which Council members were going one way or another and we changed a few minds. I don’t think NoHo would have had as cohesive a district had it not been for HDC’s aid.”

Zella Jones: NoHo Historic District; NoHo East; and NoHo Extension

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“I remember Richard saying at a meeting, we have someone here from HDC, Nadezhda Williams, Director of Preservation and Research, to help us. She said to us, ‘You are not the only ones going through this.’ HDC included us in an enormous community”

Erika Petersen: West End Preservation Society

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"HDC has begun a series of projects to highlight the Bronx's architectural and cultural history. From booklet's and research highlighting specific sites and historic districts to the HDC's symposium in October 2018 to the latest community-based committee to look into further possible sites to qualify for landmarking, the HDC has established projects that will serve the Bronx community well."

Elena Martinez
City Lore, Folklorist
Bronx Music Heritage Center, Co-Artistic Director

Local Voices

"Welcome2TheBronx is grateful for the advocacy done by the Historic Districts Council on behalf of the people of The Bronx. Through their deep connections and understanding of the importance of preserving our local histories, The Bronx has been able to have several spotlights shown on endangered communities as gentrification creeps into the borough."

Ed García Conde,
founder and Executive Director,
Welcome2TheBronx