Bell Telephone Laboratories | |
![]() | |
| Location | 463 West Street,Manhattan,New York City,New York |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°44′12″N74°00′35″W / 40.73667°N 74.00972°W /40.73667; -74.00972 |
| Built | 1896–1898 |
| Architect | Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz and others |
| NRHP reference No. | 75001202 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | May 15, 1975[1] |
| Designated NHL | May 15, 1975[2] |
463 West Street is a 13-building complex located on the block betweenWest Street,Washington Street,Bank Street, and Bethune Street inManhattan,New York. It was originally the home ofBell Telephone Laboratories between 1898 and 1966. For a time, it was the largestindustrial research center in theUnited States. It was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places and further designated as aNational Historic Landmark, asBell Telephone Laboratories.[2]
Many early technological inventions were developed here including automatic telephonepanel andcrossbar switches, the first experimentaltalking movies (1923),black-and-white and color TV,video telephones,radar, thevacuum tube, medical equipment, the development of thephonograph record[3] and the firstcommercial broadcasts, including the first broadcast of abaseball game and theNew York Philharmonic withArturo Toscanini conducting. It also served as the headquarters for the company from 1925 to the early 1960s,[4] after which the headquarters moved toMurray Hill, New Jersey.
The site was also the home for part of theManhattan Project during World War II.
After two years of renovations byRichard Meier, the building was reopened in 1970 asWestbeth Artists Community for low- to middle-incomeartists. In addition to affordable artist housing, the complex contains a theater, an art gallery, and a synagogue.
It was declared aNational Historic Landmark in 1975.[2][3] The complex was listed a second time on the National Register in 2009, for its high-profile and successful example ofadaptive reuse of the property.
The southern viaduct section of theWest Side Line railroad passed underneath the building at first floor level. This segment remains in place but is now isolated from the rest of the former railroad viaduct, which is now theHigh Line elevated park.

{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)