Symbol of Modernity: The Bell Telephone Building
“One’s first impression and one’s final impression on a visit to the new telephone building is one of vast modernism”
-The Saginaw Sunday News, July 12, 1931.
Since its dedication in 1931, the Bell Telephone Building, now the AT&T Building, has defined the southern portion of Saginaw’s downtown business district. Its dedication, in the midst of the Great Depression, marked both the completion of a major new landmark and the transformation of Saginaw’s telephone system. The building housed the newest of equipment and “Saginaw’s 14,000 telephones became part of one of the most-up-to-date telephone systems in the world when they were transferred last midnight from manual operation in the Michigan Bell Telephone company’s new building at Washington and Janes avenues” (The Saginaw Sunday News, July 12, 1931).
According to articles published at the time of the building’s dedication, Saginaw’s first central telephone opened in 1879 with offices housed in the Bliss Block, the building located on the southeast corner of East Genesee and South Washington. With the new facility’s dedication, “Saginaw’s most modern and beautiful building became a great deal more than just a decoration in the city when last night’s cutover put into operation the building’s intricate mechanisms that today handled 14,500 telephone lines, but still retains and without doubt will retain for years to come its place as a distinct addition to the architectural beauty of Saginaw.”
“The seven stories of vari-colored limestone erected in step-by-step design with four set-backs presents a pleasing picture when viewed from any direction. A kind of modernized gothic style has been utilized in the design” (The Saginaw Sunday News, July 12, 1931).
The building’s designer was Wirt Rowland of the Detroit firm of Smith Hinchman and Grylls. Rowland also designed the Second National Bank building. This link will take you to a biography of Rowland.
While the telephone system has changed profoundly–and profoundly is an understatement–since the dedication of the Bell Telephone Building in 1931, it remains a landmark and a symbol of optimism. Its 1970s additions remind us that even the most modern of architectural visions will need to be expanded and adjusted to meet needs that couldn’t even have been forecast.
However, the building’s Art Deco architecture still reminds us of the promises made by Bell Telephone Company almost a century ago:
“We have dedicated this modern telephone building and equipment to the service of this community.
We further dedicate the best efforts of each member of our Company to the end . . .” (The Saginaw Sunday News, July 12, 1931).
Note: Saginaw’s Bell Telephone and Second National Bank buildings are discussed in Michael G. Smith’s Designing Detroit: Wirt Rowland and the Rise of Modern American Architecture.
The Recipe: Nina Cawley’s Potato Chip-Oatmeal Cookies
The Recipe is from Great Cooking From the Great Lakes, a cookbook published in 1992 by the Great Lakes Chapter of the Telephone Pioneers of America. Discovered in a used book rack while a CTK staff member was on vacation, the publication includes numerous contributions from Saginaw members of the organization. Don’t be surprised if you see additional recipes from it connecting us with Saginaw’s telephone history.
Nina Cawley’s Potato Chip-Oatmeal Cookies
1 cup sugar
1cup packed brown sugar
1 cup margarine, softened
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ to 2 cups flour [The CTK used about 1 ¾ cups]
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups oats [The CTK used old fashioned]
2 cups crushed potato chips
Cream sugar, brown sugar, margarine, eggs and vanilla in mixer bowl until light and fluffy. Combine flour, baking soda, oats and potato chips in large bowl, mix well. Stir into creamed mixture. Drop by spoonfuls 2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until light brown. Yield: 56 cookies. Nina Crawley, Saginaw
Nina C. Cawley:
Nina C. Mauro Cawley was born in Saginaw in 1932. Her obituary notes “ She was married to John "Pat" Cawley on November 14, 1953. He predeceased her August 28, 2013. Nina retired from Ameritech in 1990. She was a member of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, the Brown Bag Bunch and Telephone Pioneers of America. She was awarded Saginaw County Volunteer of the Year volunteering at many local organizations. Nina enjoyed gardening, cooking and especially her grandchildren. Surviving to cherish her memory are two daughters and one son . . .”
For Nina Cawley’s full obituary.
CTK Notes:
-Be careful not to overbake your cookies--a burned potato-chip cookie is not a good thing.
