| 17 & 19 Newhall Street | |
|---|---|
 The Bell Edison Telephone Building (17-19 Newhall Street), Birmingham | |
 Interactive map of 17 & 19 Newhall Street | |
| General information | |
| Type | Office |
| Location | Newhall Street,Birmingham,England |
| Coordinates | 52°28′53.5″N1°54′6.5″W / 52.481528°N 1.901806°W /52.481528; -1.901806 |
| Completed | 1887 |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 3 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Frederick Martin |
| Designations | |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
| Official name | 17 and 19, Newhall Street and 103, Edmund Street |
| Designated | 21 January 1970 |
| Reference no. | 1076238 |
17 & 19 Newhall Street is a red brick andarchitectural terracottaGrade I listed building, situated on the corner ofNewhall Street andEdmund Street in the city centre ofBirmingham,England. Although its official name is 17 & 19 Newhall Street, it is popularly known asThe Exchange, and was previously known as theBell Edison Telephone Building.
Opened in 1887, the building was designed byFrederick Martin of the firmMartin & Chamberlain. It was constructed to house the new Central Telephone Exchange and offices for theNational Telephone Company (NTC). Birmingham's central exchange had 5,000 subscribers and was the largest of its type in the country.
Originally having the postal address of19 Newhall Street, it was known as "Telephone Buildings" within the NTC organisation but it was also popularly known as the "Bell Edison Telephone Building" – the NTC logo behind the wrought iron gates to the main entrance bears the names ofBell andEdison. The ground floor of the building was let out to shops.
In 1912, the NTC was taken over by thePostmaster General and ownership of the building transferred to theGPO. Whereas Telephone House accommodated the telex automatic exchange, 19 Newhall Street held a TAS exchange which was used by the GPO to route telegrams around the UK. It also housed the Birmingham office of thePost Office Engineering Union (located on the basement floor in Edmund Street).
DuringWorld War I, the building was used as the Midland headquarters of theair raid warning system.
In 1936, the Central Telephone Exchange vacated the building and relocated to new premises (Telephone House) further down Newhall Street.
17 & 19 Newhall Street is now occupied by Core Marketing (a marketing and PR company), Mitchell Adam (an accountancy recruitment firm) and GBR Phoenix Beard (a firm of property consultants). The basement is occupied by a bar calledBushwackers, which has its entrance on Edmund Street.
The building's full postal address is:The Exchange, 19 Newhall Street, Birmingham B3 3PJ. However, it occupies 17 & 19 Newhall Street as well as 103 Edmund Street.
Authority control databases: Geographic |
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