Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1914-06-27
New Telephone Building

at Ironwooo this summer, the work Of
which is well under way. 1t IS estlm
ated that the building and other i'm
provements will cost IN the neighbor-
hood of $4,000. The following account
OF the proposed improvements is taken
from the brentwood News Record:
The new telephone office will serve
subscribers IN both Ironwood and Hur-
ley. When it Is completed, subscribers
will call central by merely lifting
the receiver, instead of turning ring
ing crank. The telephones now in use
win be replaced by crankless telephones
The new office will be a modern two
story structure of brick. From an ar
chitectural standpoint also, it will be
a credit TO the city. The building will
be of COLONIAL design with stone column
doorway and IRON balconies in front of
tne SECOND story WINDOW.
On the first floor Will be located the
public reception room, commercial
office and the quarters of the wire
chief. The huge batteries and power
plant which will supply electricity tor
the new type of swichboards will be IN
the basement. The switcbboards will
be intalled on the second floor
One of the attractive features of the
new Office is the rest room for the
operators which Will be found on the
second floor. The rest room will be
furnished with easy chairs, couches
and other accommodations for the com
fort and enjoyment of the telephone
girls.
The new switchboards will be of
common battery type Those in use
at the present time are known as mag.
netIc swItchbuards. The essential diff
ference between the two types is in
dicated by methods of calling cent
raj. - The magnetic telephone mas the
ringing crank.
The lifting of the receiver of a com
mon-battery telephone causes tiny
electric lamp on the switchboard to
flash. Instantly, the flash tells the
operator that a subscriber is calling.
When the conversation is ended, an
other signal.lamp tells the operator
that the receiver has been hung up,
and she disconnects. For every sub
scriber's line in Ironwood and Hurley
there will be tiny signal-lamp on the
new switchboard.
Before charging the city's telephone
plant the Michigan State Telephone
Company made study of the ciry's
growth, including planned improve
ments to property and the expected
increase IN population. On this study
the plans for increasing telephone
facilities are based. Although this
means overbuildlng or the installation
of equipment which must be unused for
a time, il aids in the development of
city by providing facilities adequate
to meet future demands tor telephone
service.
lronwood's modern telephone plant
will b. adequate to care for telephone
growth in this city and Hurley well in
to the future. The new switchboards
will have capacity to serve 1900 sub
scriners. Seventy new subscribers
were added last year
At the present rate of growth there
will be more than 1900 telehones in
use by 1917.
At present more than LOCO telehones
center in the lronwood office. Of these
a little over $50 ara locat ed in Hur-
ley. An average of 10, 900 local calls
are handled daily in the lronwood ex-
change.
The contract for the erection Of the
new telephone building was recently
awarded to Owens & NIeuwenkamp,
Ironwood contractors, who have the
the foundations we'll under way.
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