Evening star., 1947-11-27
{. & P. Plans Bui|din!
For Long-Distance
Dia|ing Equipment
By NewboId Noyes, Jr.


The Chesapeake and Potomac
Telephone Co. is planning to
construct a $1,2OO,OO0 building
in the 700 block of Thirteenth
street NV. to house ultra mod
ern long distance dialing equip
ment.
Toll dialing has been hailed as the
greatest advance in telephone COM
munication since the invention of
the dial system. Eventually, it
should make it as easy to dial a
number in San Francisco or New
Orleans as it is to call the house
across the street. j.
The new building, costing only a
fraction of the value of the equip
ment it is to contain, will be built
on the site of the old Andrews Paper
Co. building, 729 Thirteenth street
NV, which is to be torn down.
Thus the new structure will adjoin
telephone company's present down.
town building at 725 and 727 Thir-
teenth street NV.
Four or FIVE Year Job.
Company oflicfals said they hope
to start the new building some
time next year. But they added
cautiously 1t will be four or five
years before Washingtonians start
dialing friends across the continent.
Roughly, this is two-year build
ing job" one official said. 1T will
take another year to install the
toll dialing equipment, and still an
other year. at least, to test It,"
The project, long held under
wraps, came to light yesterday when
the Board of Zoning Adjustment
announced it had denied the COM
panys appeal for variance from
height provisions OF the zoning reg
ulations.- The company wanted to
build eight stories straight up, with
a slight setback" on the ninth or
top floor to make the new edifice
| identical to the existing building,
erected before current zoning laws
were operative.
Floor Setback Required.
The board, however, ruled that,
since the eighth floor is to be more
than 10 feet above the sidewalk 1t
must be set back in accordance with
regulations-asm must the ninth moor
The board also refused to allow
the telephone company to construct
the building so as to occupy the
same amount of lot space as, is oc-
cupied by the existing building next
door. According to Leon Chatelain
jr., architect of the projected
building. the discrepancy between
the building area requested and
that allowed in the zoning regula
tions is only l per cent.
James B. Morrison. the telephone
companys vice president and gen.
eral manager. told a reporter plans
for the building now will be revised
to meet the coming regulations.
May Change Style.
The company wanted to make
the new edifice an addition to the
present building and a duplicate OF
it, thus achieving architectural
harmony, Mr.. Morrison said.
Now we have to decide whether
to try still to make the two struc-
lures blend as one building-or tc
abandon that idea and make this a
separate building in a different
STYLE" he added.
The telephone of1icial could moi
estimate the cost of equipment to
be installed in the new structure
In addition to the toll -dialing equip
inent, Mr.. Morrison said, the build
ing would house all new equipment
for the handling of long distance
calls.
MI. Morrison said the growth Of
the Nationwide toll-dialing system
will be gradual. After the equip
ment is in operation here, for ex-
ample, a Washingtonian will not be
able to dial friend in Chicago di-
rectly until similar equipment Is op-
Grating in Chicago.
Philadelphia Pioneers.
/ Meanwhile, however, 1t will be
possible for Washington long dis
tance operators to dial directly to
operators in other cities, thus avoid
ing present-day complex routing
problems, Mr.. Morrison explained.
i Philadelphia. pioneering the new
system, already has its equipment
installed, Mr.. Morrison said. New
York is on the list ahead of Wash.
>. ington. ..>
Il The Andrews Building, which Is te
make way for the new structure, nov
is owned by the telephone company
1t contains business ONCE Of tn.
company, which also occupy thu
i first, eighth and ninth floors Of tn,
main building next door. The res
of the telephone company buildint
houses equipment, both local ane
long distance.