Michigan Bell Building

The Michigan Bell Building is an industrial and office building located at 309 South Washington in Saginaw, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.^[1]

Michigan Bell Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	309 S. Washington, Saginaw, Michigan
Coordinates	43°25′50″N 83°56′25″W
Area	1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built	1930 (1930)
Architect	Smith, Hinchman & Grylls
Architectural style	Art Deco
MPS	Center Saginaw MRA
NRHP reference No.	82002870[1]
Added to NRHP	July 9, 1982

History

In the late 1920s, Michigan Bell needed a new facility to house dial telephone equipment. They engaged the Detroit firm of Smith, Hinchman & Grylls to design this building. Construction on the building began in 1930. An addition was constructed in 1974.^[2] The flexibility of the building allowed Michigan Bell, and later AT&T, to continue using the building through the 2010s.^[3]

Description

The Michigan Bell Building is a seven-story limestone Art Deco structure with stepped-back upper floors. The first two floors are unified behind tall window openings. Wide stone bandcourses separate the third through the sixth floors. Floors seven and eight are set back and decorated with low relief chevrons. To accommodate the heavy equipment, the building was designed to hold over double the floor weight per square foot of a standard office building. ^[2]