The Deal Test Site (now Joe Palaia Park ) is located in Ocean Township , New Jersey .
95-574: The Joe Palaia Park was originally started as the Foxburst Farm, a 63-acre (250,000 m) tract which is now the southern portion of the park. It was purchased by Western Electric , (part of AT&T and later Lucent ), in 1919. The site was later expanded with an additional 145 acres (0.59 km) purchased by AT&T in 1927. The site is bounded by three major township roads, Deal Road, Whalepond Road, and Dow Avenue. Several homes on Whalepond Road, north of Freehold Street, and Dow Avenue, from
190-513: A limited liability company . In a filing with the South Dakota Secretary of State dated January 30, 2024, the reason given for the merger is that New York state law does not allow AT&T Corp. to be directly converted into an LLC. Although acquired by SBC in 2005, AT&T Corp. has remained a separate entity within the corporate structure of AT&T Inc. The merger, said to create “greater operational efficiencies”, will end
285-527: A 171 conference room inn. The AT&T Learning Center won the commercial property known as Somerset County's Land Development Award that year. In 1992, Basking Ridge location would become a corporate headquarters just before AT&T leased the New York City, 550 Madison Avenue building to Sony in 1993. The corporate statue, known as " Golden Boy " was moved in 1992, from the former New York City headquarters to this current New Jersey headquarters. In 1992,
380-581: A 40-foot (12 m) tower (near the Bicentennial Oak Tree) was used to pick up signals from Russian satellites Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2 . The large circular concrete base of this antenna is still visible today. In the 1960s, the Army transmitted the first photograph via facsimile ( fax ) to Puerto Rico from the site using the Courier satellite . In 1823/1824, long before the land became
475-645: A 54% share of the Nippon Electric Company, Ltd. Western Electric's representative in Japan was Walter Tenney Carleton . The company, later known as NEC, would eventually become a major international manufacturer of electronics equipment including semiconductors and personal computers. In 1901, Western Electric secretly purchased a controlling interest in a principal competitor, the Kellogg Switchboard & Supply Company , but in 1909
570-407: A Class 1 licensed private helipad , a two-story cafeteria, a wood-burning fireplace, an indoor waterfall at the entrance lobby, and a seven-acre created lake for flood control. The entire property was 130 acre and cost $ 219 million to construct. Later, across the street from the complex, AT&T purchased additional land and established its Learning Center in 1985, at 300 North Maple Avenue, to become
665-664: A Western Electric decision to join Haverhill and Lawrence locations in 1956 as the Merrimack Valley Works. In 1944, Western Electric purchased a factory in St. Paul, Minnesota to restart manufacture of telephone sets for civilian installation as authorized by War Production Board . By 1946, some of these facilities were relocated to the Hawthorne plant as space became available from war-production scale down. Also,
760-504: A close relationship with telegraph company Western Union , to whom they supplied relays and other equipment. In 1875, Gray sold his interests to Western Union, including the caveat that he had filed against Alexander Graham Bell 's patent application for the telephone . The ensuing legal battle between Western Union and the Bell Telephone Company over patent rights ended in 1879 with Western Union withdrawing from
855-411: A corporate art consultant approached, artist sculptor, Elyn Zimmerman , to commission a 30-foot diameter project with fountain and seating area for the conference center courtyard gardens. In 1994, the project was completed and had one 34 ton granite boulder centered on top of the other boulders, which flowed water from the fountain designed by fountain engineer, Dr. Gerald Palevsky. AT&T occupancy at
950-586: A factory at that location and the Western Electric company known as W.E. Mfg. Co., at the time, had purchased Western Union's New York Factory to continue the increase of phone production. This site would also place the end to Western Union factories. The Boston shop was located at 109-115 Court Street and it was previously known as the Charles Williams, Jr factory that was purchased by Western Electric in 1882. The consolidation of operations
1045-436: A factory. On August 22, 1952, the facility opened to produce new electronic components for the U.S. government for use by the military and the space program. In the mid-1950s, Western Electric established several more satellite "Shops" that were smaller locations reporting to the larger "Works" locations. The "Montgomery Shops" were occupied in 1955 to produce Data-Phone data sets, wire spring relays, and test sets. Although, it
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#17327732234411140-470: A former physics professor at Oberlin College . Barton thought of future growth in electrical apparatus potential for the company and shared a common enthusiasm with the inventor, who was interested in leading a manufacturing plant capable of long-term developments. Shawk found those plans were beyond his business goals and offered to sell his half-interest partnership to Gray. Anson Stager , a former Chief of
1235-555: A headquarters on 195 Broadway (close to what is now the World Trade Center site ). The property originally belonged to Western Union , of which AT&T held a controlling interest until 1913 when AT&T divested its interest as part of the Kingsbury Commitment . Construction of the current building began in 1912. Designed by William Welles Bosworth , who played a significant role in designing Kykuit ,
1330-515: A meeting of the top executives to decide whether I might remain with the Company, for it established a precedent and a new policy for the Company – that of married women in their employ. If the women at the top were permitted to remain after marriage then all women would expect the same privilege. The policy was expanded quickly, so that a few years later women were given maternity leaves with no loss of time on their service records." Western Electric
1425-433: A network of undersea surveillance cables for foreign submarine detection. AT&T was probably, according to internal employees, involved in this Sound Surveillance System ( SOSUS ). After completion, AT&T began commercial operations in cable laying for communications in 1955. The implementation of cables assured local and long-distance telephone or data services would provide revenue for the company. AT&T Long Lines
1520-474: A new building at 550 Madison Avenue . This new AT&T Building was designed by Philip Johnson and quickly became an icon of the new Postmodern architectural style. The building was completed in 1984, the very year of the divestiture of the Bell System. The building proved to be too large for the post-divestiture corporation and in 1993, AT&T leased the building to Sony , who then subsequently owned
1615-559: A permanent plant. The 200,000 square-foot leased plant began in June 1971. In 1974, there were 490 IBEW employee members on strike over local agreement issues. In 1975, this San Ramon Valley Plant announced a September 30 closure of its telephone transmission equipment manufacturing operations. On January 27, 1983, the Kearny facility was announced for closure due to technology changes, underutilized, and too costly to maintain. The phase out of
1710-631: A sale-leaseback agreement valued at $ 650.3 million on the complex with the address previously known as One Verizon Way. In 2017, the 35 acre hotel/conference center was known as the Dolce Basking Ridge Hotel and sold for $ 30 million. On February 15, 2024, AT&T Inc. filed notice with the Kentucky Public Service Commission that it intends to make an internal structural change and merge AT&T Corp. into AT&T Enterprises, Inc., which will become
1805-667: A section chief and one maintenance man. In 1955, the Lawrence plant reached its peak employment at more than 2,000 employees. This Bell Labs research and development satellite had 40 Bell Telephone Laboratories engineers and 25 Western Electric employees. Carrier equipment used filters made with Polystyrene condensers at this Garfield Shops or later referred as Lawrence Shops. In 1952, the Reading plant began when Western Electric converted an old Rosedale knitting mill in Laureldale into
1900-423: A shopping center parking lot, with a remaining two buildings converted. A water tower is the remaining physical association of the industrial research complex where telephones, electronics, military equipment and business management innovations were produced by a facility that once existed. The Baltimore facility closed on February 28, 1986. The facility, which had once employed 6,200, was staffed by 65 employees on
1995-470: A statue originally named Electricity , but later renamed Spirit of Communication , which was raised to the roof of 195 Broadway on October 24, 1916. In 1915, the assets of Western Electric Manufacturing were transferred to a newly incorporated company in New York, New York , named Western Electric Company, Inc , a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T. The sole reason for the transfer was to provide for
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#17327732234412090-427: A telephone not supplied by the Bell System had to first transfer the phone to the local Bell operating company, who leased the phone back to the customer for a monthly charge in addition to a re-wiring fee. In the 1970s when consumers increasingly bought telephone sets from other manufacturers, AT&T changed the policy for its Design Line telephone series by selling customers the phone housing, retaining ownership of
2185-564: A test site, a Late Pleistocene /early Holocene mastodon was excavated from a peat bog on the south side of Poplar Brook. Fossil vertebrate remains were also found from the Tertiary marls along the brook. In the 1970s, It was used for Summer Stock Plays on the outdoor stage to the south of the main road. In the 1990s, the Deal test site was renamed Palaia Park, and a 3-mile (4.8 km) system of paved pathways have been laid throughout
2280-619: Is called a "hypostyle hall", with full-bodied Doric columns modeled on the Parthenon, marking out a grid. Bosworth was seeking to coordinate the classical tradition with the requirements of a modern building. Columns were not merely the decorative elements they had become in the hands of other architects but created all the illusion of being real supports. Bosworth also designed the campus of MIT as well as Theodore N. Vail 's mansion in Morristown, New Jersey . In 1978, AT&T commissioned
2375-487: The Bell System 's long history, AT&T was at times the world's largest telephone company, the world's largest cable television operator, and a regulated monopoly. At its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, it employed one million people and its revenue ranged between US$ 3 billion in 1950 ($ 41.3 billion in present-day terms ) and $ 12 billion in 1966 ($ 117 billion in present-day terms ). In 2005, AT&T
2470-551: The 1920s. In 1923, construction began on the second factory located in Kearny, New Jersey . The location was known as Kearny Works and in 1925 began telephone cable production. On June 15, 1928, Western Electric employees, photographed by Rosenfeld and Sons, were pictured, in a groundbreaking ceremony , for their expansion of the Kearny Works manufacturing facility at 110 Central Ave, Kearny, New Jersey. Kearny Works would achieve
2565-407: The 1930s in conjunction with Bell Telephone Laboratories (the successor to Western Electric’s research division), to use shorter wavelengths for radio transmission, this eventually led to the development of the microwave radio relay systems used to carry long distance telephone traffic in the latter half of the 20th century. The development of fiber-optic communications (also by Bell Labs) ended
2660-530: The Rockefeller mansion north of Tarrytown, New York , it was a modern steel structure clad top to bottom in a Greek-styled exterior, the three-story-high Ionic columns of Vermont granite forming eight registers over a Doric base. The lobby of the AT&;T Building was one of the most unusual ones of the era. Instead of a large double-high space, similar to the nearby Woolworth Building , Bosworth designed what
2755-524: The U.S. Military Telegraphs during the American Civil War , advanced money for Gray to buy the half-interest and become a partner when Gray and Barton moved operations to Chicago . Gray and Barton previously knew Stager and an agreement was signed on November 18, 1869, to launch the company as Gray & Barton. The firm was open for business by the end of the year in Chicago. In December 1869,
2850-538: The United States for much of the 20th century, Western Electric's equipment was widespread across the country. The company was responsible for many technological innovations, as well as developments in industrial management. In 1856, George Shawk, a craftsman and telegraph maker, purchased an electrical engineering business in Cleveland, Ohio . In January 1869, Shawk had partnered with Enos M. Barton in
2945-459: The Western Electric brand. Early on, Western Electric also managed an electrical equipment distribution business, furnishing its customers with non-telephone products made by other manufacturers This electrical distribution business was spun off from Western Electric in 1925 and organized into a separate company, Graybar Electric Company , in honor of the company's founders, Elisha Gray and Enos Barton. Bell Telephone Laboratories , created from
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3040-588: The building until it was sold in 2013. In 1969, AT&T began plans to construct an administration corporate complex in the suburbs. In early 1970, AT&T began purchases of land in the suburbs of New Jersey for this office complex and began construction in 1974. The award-winning architect, Vincent Kling , designed a Fordism style, luxurious "Pagoda" campus layout and the construction firms: New York–based Walter Kidde and Newark, New Jersey –based Frank Briscoe, managed this joint venture construction project with Vollers Construction of Branchburg, New Jersey , as
3135-583: The closure date. By the time AT&T was dissolved in the early 1980s, more than twenty production plants around the country ("Works" locations) had been established. AT%26T Corporation AT&T Corporation , an abbreviation for its former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company , was an American telecommunications company that provided voice, video, data, and Internet telecommunications and professional services to businesses, consumers, and government agencies. During
3230-408: The company's breakup in 1984. Throughout most of the 20th century, AT&T held a semi-monopoly on phone service in the United States and Canada through a network of companies called the Bell System . At this time, the company was nicknamed Ma Bell . AT&T had a domestic and global presence in laying the infrastructure of undersea routes for telecommunications. In 1950, the U.S. Navy commissioned
3325-406: The construction of Hawthorne Works first buildings were authorized by Barton. In 1907, the research and development staffs of Western Electric and AT&T were consolidated to 463 West Street, New York. The location served the newly Western Electric Engineering Department for the responsibility of the testing and inspection of its telephones and equipment. AT&T's Engineering Department retained
3420-599: The corner of Whalepond Road to the Ocean Township School, abut the property. After World War I , AT&T used the site to conduct ship-to-shore wireless experiments off the Jersey Shore . Five large radio towers were eventually erected and used to broadcast speech and music for a range of 1,000 miles (1,600 km). In 1921, a two-story white building was built, which was used as a laboratory and dormitories for engineers. Research continued through
3515-578: The corporate logo designed by Saul Bass in 1983 and originally used by AT&T Information Systems , was created because part of the United States v. AT&T settlement required AT&T to relinquish all claims to the use of Bell System trademarks. It has been nicknamed the " Death Star " in reference to the Death Star space station in Star Wars which the logo resembles. In 1999 it
3610-491: The demand for wired services. It established station WEAF in New York as what was termed a toll station . AT&T could provide no programming, but anyone who wished to broadcast a message could pay a "toll" to AT&T and then air the message publicly. The original studio was the size of a telephone booth. The idea, however, did not take hold, because people would pay to broadcast messages only if they were sure that someone
3705-494: The engineering department of Western Electric in 1925, was half-owned by Western Electric, the other half belonging to AT&T. The company began to increase its presence in other sectors of industry for new products. In September 1931, the Teletype Corporation headquartered in Chicago on Wrightwood Ave, became a subsidiary of Western Electric and it was a manufacturer of teletypewriters for TWX services. There
3800-641: The existence of the nearly 140-year-old entity. The internal merger took effect on May 1, 2024. AT&T, prior to its merger with SBC Communications , had three core companies: AT&T Alascom sold service in Alaska. AT&T Communications was renamed AT&T Communications – East, Inc. and sold long-distance telephone service and operated as a CLEC outside of the borders of the Bell Operating Companies that AT&T owned. It has now been absorbed into AT&T Corp. and all but 4 of
3895-448: The facility jobs started in fall of 1983 and the 59 year old, 3 million-square-foot, 144-acre facility was sold officially on May 21, 1984, with nearly 1000 last employees left at the plant. The former facility was purchased and later existed as warehouses, distribution, research and light manufacturing facilities. As modern facilities around the country were used for the operations of Hawthorne and its productions distributed, announcement
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3990-549: The federal government entered into an agreement known as the Kingsbury Commitment . In the Kingsbury Commitment, AT&T and the government reached an agreement that allowed AT&T to continue operating as a telephone monopoly, subject to certain conditions, including divesting its interest in Western Union. While AT&T periodically faced scrutiny from regulators, this state of affairs continued until
4085-499: The following Monday, November 21 as " the new AT&T " and began trading under the "T" symbol on December 1. Present-day AT&T Inc. claims AT&T Corp.'s history as its own, but retains SBC's pre-2005 stock price history and corporate structure. As well, all SEC filings before 2005 are under SBC, not AT&T. From 1885 to 1910, AT&T was headquartered at 125 Milk Street in Boston. With its expansion it moved to New York City, to
4180-464: The former Western Union repair shop of Cleveland, to manufacture burglar alarms, fire alarms, and other electrical items. Both men were former Western Union employees. Shawk, was the Cleveland shop foreman and Barton, was a Rochester, New York telegrapher. During this Shawk and Barton partnership, one customer was an inventor sourcing parts and models for experiments. That inventor was Elisha Gray ,
4275-512: The former complex, excluding the hotel/conference room building, from Pfizer for Verizon Wireless Headquarters and consolidation of employees from Manhattan as well as other nearby New Jersey building locations. In 2007, Pfizer placed the North Maple Inn for sale. At the time, it was a four-diamond, certified hotel and conference center under IACC ("International Association of Conference Centers") designation. In 2015, Verizon performed
4370-480: The former parent company's main business was now AT&T Communications Inc. , which focused on long-distance services, and with other non-RBOC activities. AT&T acquired NCR Corporation in 1991. AT&T announced in 1995 that it would split into three companies: a manufacturing/R&D company, a computer company, and a services company. NCR , Bell Labs and AT&T Technologies were to be spun off by 1997. In preparation for its spin-off, AT&T Technologies
4465-436: The headquarters in Chicago had moved to a new building on Clinton Street, the New York shop had moved two city blocks to a new building on Greenwich Street, and both Boston and Indianapolis factories closed. The Antwerp location was at the same location under Western Electric operations until sold in 1925 to ITT. In April 1879, the New York shop was located at 62-68 New Church Street, Lower Manhattan, New York. Western Union had
4560-613: The high volume of manufacturing products. The North Carolina Works was located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Merrimack Valley Works location was in North Andover, Massachusetts . The Kansas City Works location was in Lee's Summit, Missouri . A Lawrence, Massachusetts factory opened on November 13, 1951, and was called the "Garfield Shops." The location started with as a wired units job and there were thirteen workers with
4655-523: The innovations of products or technologies in cabling in transmission by undersea systems. In 1955, the first trans-Atlantic telephone undersea cable, TAT-1 , from North America to Europe was installed by AT&T. This installation allowed 48 telephone circuits to be used for long-distance calling. When partnering with other global Telecommunications companies, such as the French Cables de Lyon and German Felten & Guilleaume , Bell Labs provided
4750-491: The internal mechanical and electrical components, which still required paying AT&T a monthly leasing fee. Starting in 1983 with the breakup of the Bell System, Western Electric telephones could be sold to the public under the brand name American Bell, a newly created subsidiary of AT&T. One of the terms of the Modification of Final Judgment in the Bell System divestiture procedures prohibited AT&T from using
4845-444: The issuance of a non-voting preferred class of capital stock, disallowed under the statutes of the state of Illinois. In the Bell System, telephones were leased by the operating companies to subscribers, and remained the property of the Bell System. Service subscribers paid a monthly fee included in the service charge, while paying additionally for special types or features of telephones, such as colored telephone sets. Equipment repair
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#17327732234414940-581: The largest square foot size of 3,579,000 throughout the years and be the second largest plant for Western Electric manufacturing plants built before the 1930s, only second in size to the Hawthorne Works at Cicero, Illinois . Here is an aerial image of Kearny Works, between 1925 and 1930, held in the Library Company of Philadelphia. with the picture of the entire plant and railways. In 1929, work began at Point Breeze, Baltimore, Maryland as
5035-518: The laying or repair of cabling under the subsidiary, Transoceanic Cable Ship Company. After the break-up, AT&T operated their ships under a subsidiary called AT&T Submarine Systems Inc, based in Morristown, New Jersey, until they sold six ships to Tyco International Ltd in 1997 for $ 850 million. AT&T continued to maintain their communication building facilities. Here is a list of the cable laying-ship fleet: Between 1951 and 2000, AT&T
5130-601: The location peaked to 6,000 employees in its heyday before AT&T experienced competition and downsizing. In October 2001, the Basking Ridge property was 140 acre with 2.6 million square feet and was placed for sale. Basking Ridge employee occupancy, prior to the sale were approximately 3,200 employees. In April 2002, Pharmacia Corporation purchased the complex for $ 210 million for their corporate headquarters from existing Peapack-Gladstone, New Jersey headquarters. A short time afterwards, in 2005, Verizon purchased
5225-591: The location was at 162 South Water Street in Chicago. On December 31, 1869, he entered a partnership with Barton, and later sold his share to inventor Gray. In 1872, Barton and Gray moved the business to Clinton Street, and incorporated it as the Western Electric Manufacturing Company on the Near West Side of Chicago. They manufactured a variety of electrical products including typewriters, alarms, and lighting and had
5320-560: The name Bell after January 1, 1984; prior to this, AT&T's plan was to market products and services under the American Bell name, accompanied by the now familiar AT&T globe logo. In 1903, Western Electric began construction of the first buildings for Hawthorne Works on the outskirts of Chicago . In 1905, the Clinton Street power apparatus shops moved to Hawthorne. Further expansion of large factories began in
5415-479: The operations for pulp cable relocated to Phoenix Works. A loss of 400 positions were expected eliminated in the process. After the Bell System breakup, Western Electric facilities were known as AT&T Technologies facilities in 1984. The three largest and oldest facilities, Hawthorne Works, Kearny Works, and Baltimore Works were closed shortly after due to "excess space". Western Electric used various logos during its existence. Starting in 1914 it used an image of
5510-410: The original 22 subsidiaries that formed AT&T Communications continue to exist. AT&T Laboratories has been integrated into AT&T Labs , formerly named SBC Laboratories . AT&T was also known as "Ma Bell" and affectionately called "Mother" by phone phreaks . During some strikes by its employees, picketers would wear T-shirts reading, "Ma Bell is a real mother." Before the break-up, there
5605-412: The patent rights of Alexander Graham Bell after he invented the telephone system. Originally a verbal agreement, it was formalized in writing in 1875 as Bell Telephone Company . In 1880 the management of American Bell created what would become AT&T Long Lines . The project was the first of its kind to create a nationwide long-distance network with a commercially viable cost-structure. The project
5700-612: The reduced production of home telephones because of the war, began to have a backlog of two million orders in late 1945 for the Hawthorne plant. Western Electric had acquired a former Studebaker plant on Archer Avenue (Chicago, Illinois) for assemblers that produced out one hundred thousand Model 302s telephones by March 1946. After World War II, the National Carbon Company left a facility that had manufactured United States Navy submarine batteries and underwater detonators in Winston-Salem. This facility at 800 Chatham Road,
5795-459: The responsibility for the growth of the Bell System with compatible equipment and service. Gradually the consolidation improved and advanced the telephony response to expanding use. On July 24, 1915, employees of the Hawthorne Works boarded the SS Eastland in downtown Chicago for a company picnic. The ship rolled over at the dock and over 800 people died. In 1920, Alice Heacock Seidel
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#17327732234415890-779: The site. The park contains soccer and baseball fields, and boasts a large festival ground that is used by the township for civic events, and cultural festivals. The park has also hosted the USA Track & Field (USATF), USA 40 km Racewalking championships that occur in early September. Many festivals and events take place throughout the year at the test site, including the Italian American Festival, which attracts over 100,000 visitors over five days. 40°15′26″N 74°01′53″W / 40.25714°N 74.03148°W / 40.25714; -74.03148 Western Electric Western Electric Co., Inc.
5985-659: The specification and inspection of non Bell System cable for networks such as the TAT-2 . By the continuous undersea network installations, AT&T was a globally technology leader with the 1970 installed TAT-5 and the 1975 installed TAT-6 , achieving 720 channels and then 4000 channels for transmitting voice or data. Prior to 1963, AT&T had to charter oceanic ships, such as the CS Monarch (1945) for installations. AT&T purchased CS Long Lines in 1961 and operated it with several cable laying ships that would provide, either
6080-535: The subcontractor. The 295 North Maple Avenue and Interstate 287 location of Basking Ridge in Bernards Township , New Jersey was completed in 1975 for the AT&T General Department offices. Employees began moving, in November 1975, to the seven inter-connected building complex using 28 acre of the property. The property had a 15-acre underground parking garage with spaces for 3,900 vehicles, and included
6175-435: The superiority of one phone system and AT&T adopted the slogan "One Policy, One System, Universal Service." This would be the company's philosophy for the next 70 years. Under Vail, AT&T began buying up many of the smaller telephone companies including Western Union telegraph . These actions brought unwanted attention from antitrust regulators. Anxious to avoid action from government antitrust suits, AT&T and
6270-417: The telephone market and Bell acquiring Western Electric in 1881. This purchase was a crucial step in standardizing telephone instruments and concentrating manufacturing in a single entity. In the company's first few years as Western Electric, there were five manufacturing locations located at Chicago (220-232 Kinzie St.) New York, Boston, Indianapolis and Antwerp, Belgium. The locations were not permanent, as
6365-464: The third manufacturing location, Baltimore Works, began its occupancy by 1930 for various cable and wire production. Two manufacturing plants in Lincoln, Nebraska were leased in 1943 to Western Electric to manufacture signal corps equipment and later production demands from Hawthorne Works. The Eighth Street building, known as "Lincoln Shops," and the 13th Street building were the locations, the latter
6460-539: The three oldest manufacturing facilities for product manufacturing transfers and employee expected layoffs. The Kearny Works facility that made systems to convert commercial power to run various telecom equipment, would transfer remaining work to Dallas Works. The shutdown of the plant would eliminate 4,000 jobs. The Baltimore Works facility that made connectors and protectors for wire and cable had work moved to Omaha Works. A total of 2,300 jobs were potentially eliminated after that announcement. The Hawthorne Works facility, had
6555-519: The variety of new designs introduced into the market place. This led Western Electric to pursue extreme reliability and durability in design to minimize service calls. In particular, the work of Walter A. Shewhart , who developed new techniques for statistical quality control in the 1920s, helped lead to the quality of manufacture of Western Electric telephones. AT&T also strictly enforced policies against using telephone equipment by other manufacturers on their network. A customer who insisted on using
6650-448: The widespread use of microwave repeaters. Facilities at the test site were used in the 1950s and 1960s to monitor missiles and satellites launched from Cape Kennedy . It was instrumental in the development of TIROS-1 and TIROS-2 weather satellites . In 1953, the test site was sold by AT&T, and the new owners leased the property to the U.S. Army Signal Corps for tracking satellites. A 28-foot (8.5 m) dish antenna on
6745-405: Was acquired by " Baby Bell " and former subsidiary SBC Communications for more than $ 16 billion ($ 25 billion in present-day terms ). SBC then changed its name to AT&T Inc. , with AT&T Corporation continuing to exist as a long distance subsidiary until its dissolution on May 1, 2024. AT&T started with Bell Patent Association , a legal entity established in 1874 to protect
6840-668: Was agreed on September 3, 1974, with employees at 13 plants returning to work. Only the company's subsidiary Teletype Corporation plant in Little Rock, Arkansas and two plants, the Columbia River Switching Equipment factory in Vancouver, Washington and in San Ramon, California were subject to ratification or in negotiations to settle local agreements. In 1983, corporate announcements were made at
6935-489: Was an American electrical engineering and manufacturing company that operated from 1869 to 1996. A subsidiary of the AT&;T Corporation for most of its lifespan, Western Electric was the primary manufacturer, supplier, and purchasing agent for all telephone equipment for the Bell System from 1881 until 1984, when the Bell System was dismantled . Because the Bell System had a near-total monopoly over telephone service in
7030-464: Was because Massachusetts corporate laws were very restrictive, and limited capitalization to ten million dollars, forestalling American Bell's further growth. With this assets transfer at the very end of the 19th century, AT&T became the parent of both American Bell and the Bell System . AT&T was involved mainly in the telephone business and, although it was a partner with RCA , was reluctant to see radio grow because such growth might diminish
7125-703: Was called "Buffalo Plant." A satellite shop was established in Jersey City, New Jersey called "Marion Shops" and occupied in 1947. This location produced portable test sets, rectifiers, and power equipment for the main plant known as the Kearny Works. In July 1948, the equipment plant at Duluth, Minnesota was involved in the National Labors Act with bargaining units of IAM and IBEW. After 1947, eight Works locations were built and occupied by 1961 at Allentown, Indianapolis, North Carolina, Merrimack Valley, Omaha, Columbus, Oklahoma City, and Kansas City for
7220-558: Was done in 1884 to Chicago and New York factories by Charles Williams becoming a Western Electric Manager. In 1888–1889, Western Electric built a 10-story factory building at 125 Greenwich Street in Lower Manhattan, to manufacture some of the first telephones. The New York shop that was renting the Western Union building moved to this building. In preparation for the Chicago Worlds Fair of 1892, Western Electric
7315-606: Was expanding beyond making telephone equipment and American Bell noticed its division from a manufacturing business to a supply business. Western Electric decided to split in 1921, the supply department from the manufacturing business and this led later to a separate entity. In 1925, ITT purchased the Bell Telephone Manufacturing Company of Brussels, Belgium, and other worldwide subsidiaries from AT&T, to avoid an antitrust action. The company manufactured rotary system switching equipment under
7410-559: Was forced by a lawsuit to sell back to Milo Kellogg. The Manufacturers Junction Railway Company was incorporated in January 1903 to provide rail connections to major railroad systems. There were approximately 13 miles of track in and out of Hawthorne Works for rail freight of inbound materials and outbound finished products. Western Electric had a tenure of 50 years up to 1952, in the responsibility and operation of its use for Hawthorne and other nearby industrial companies. Also, in 1903,
7505-542: Was formally incorporated in New York as a separate company named American Telephone and Telegraph Company on March 3, 1885. Originating in New York City, its long-distance telephone network reached Chicago, Illinois , in 1892, with its multitudes of local exchanges continuing to stretch further and further yearly, eventually creating a continent-wide telephone system. On December 30, 1899, the assets of American Bell were transferred into its subsidiary American Telephone and Telegraph Company (formerly AT&T Long Lines ); this
7600-516: Was greater consumer recognition of the "Bell System" name, in comparison to the name AT&T. This prompted the company to launch an advertising campaign after the break-up to increase its name recognition. Spinoffs like the Regional Bell Operating Companies or RBOC s were often called "Baby Bells". Ironically, "Ma Bell" was acquired by one of its "Baby Bells", SBC Communications , in 2005. The AT&T Globe Symbol,
7695-576: Was included in the fees. This system had the effect of subsidizing basic telephone service, keeping local telephone service inexpensive, under $ 10 per month. After divestiture, basic service prices increased, and customers became responsible for inside building wiring and telephone equipment. The Bell System had an extensive policy and infrastructure to recycle or refurbish equipment taken out of service, replacing all defective, weak, or otherwise unusable parts for new installations. This resulted in extraordinary longevity of Western Electric telephones, and limited
7790-457: Was listed 73 times in cable laying operations for specific routes deployed. The Cable Ship Long Lines had 23 cable runs from 1963 to 1992, with the first deep-sea trial of optical fiber cable in 1982 leading to the consortium of countries and locations for the TAT-8 fiber cable implementation of 1988. The United States Justice Department opened the case United States v. AT&T in 1974. This
7885-541: Was listening. As a result, WEAF began broadcasting entertainment material, drawing amateur talent found among its employees. Opposition to AT&T's expansion into radio and an agreement with the National Broadcasting Company to lease long-distance lines for their broadcasts resulted in the sale of the station and its developing network of affiliates to NBC. On April 30, 1907, Theodore Newton Vail became President of AT&T. Vail believed in
7980-612: Was located in Montgomery, Illinois, it reported and supported production of the main plant, Hawthorne Works in Cicero, Illinois. The Kearny Works facility had satellite shops that were apart from its location but were part of the manufacturing process. Located in Fair Lawn, New Jersey and occupied since 1956, the "Fair Lawn Shops" produced coils, resistors, transformers, and keys under Kearny manufacturing. The Indianapolis Works facility
8075-611: Was made on June 24, 1983, for closure. Between 1975 and 1983, the Foundry and most of the Telephone Apparatus buildings were demolished and in 1986–1987, the remaining Telephone Apparatus buildings and the Executive Tower were demolished. The Hawthorne facility was in operations for 83 years when it closed its doors in 1986 and torn down for a shopping center. Another building was demolished on April 10, 1994, for
8170-522: Was one of the divisions responsible for the cable-laying and maintaining of Long Lines' undersea cables. Western Electric was the manufacturing company responsible for production and supply of undersea coaxial equipment and later, fiber cables. Equipment such as repeaters was manufactured in Clark, New Jersey and coaxial cable was manufactured in Baltimore, Maryland . Also, Bell Labs was responsible for
8265-441: Was passed to Western Electric Company and operated until 1966 for production of national telephone companies' switches and circuits. Additionally, the location complex was one of three nationwide Western Electric field engineering sites. The mid-1940s brought occupancy to locations. A plant was established in 1946 at Tonawanda, New York to produce equipment wiring cable, telephone cords, enamelled wire, and insulated wire. This plant
8360-477: Was producing telephone sets and components with a satellite shop. The Indianapolis shop known as "Washington Street Shop" produced miscellaneous subscriber apparatus since its occupancy in 1957. The "Lawrence Shop" that was occupied in 1957 produced BELLBoy receivers, telephone repeaters and carrier products under Merrimack Valley Works. The "Clark Shop" was occupied in 1959 at Clark, New Jersey and manufactured submarine cable repeaters and components. The satellite shop
8455-400: Was prompted by suspicion that AT&T was using monopoly profits from its Western Electric subsidiary to subsidize the cost of its network, a violation of antitrust law. A settlement to this case was finalized in 1982, leading to the division of the company on January 1, 1984, into seven Regional Bell Operating Companies , commonly known as Baby Bells. These companies were: Post-breakup,
8550-546: Was renamed Lucent Technologies . Lucent was completely spun off from AT&T in 1996. On January 31, 2005, the " Baby Bell " company SBC Communications announced its plans to acquire " Ma Bell " AT&T Corp. for $ 16 billion. SBC announced in October 2005 that it would shed the "SBC" brand and take the more recognizable AT&T brand, along with the old AT&T's "T" NYSE ticker symbol. Merger approval concluded on November 18, 2005; SBC Communications began rebranding
8645-419: Was responsible for the organized Bell System sales activities and merchandising of apparatus for the 900 long-distance circuit from New York to Chicago. In 1897, the building at 463 West Street, New York was constructed and housed the New York shop as well as the company Eastern headquarters. Western Electric was the first company to join in a Japanese joint venture with foreign capital. In 1899, it invested in
8740-488: Was sold in 1950 for $ 500,000 to Western Electric. The plants were closed after the Omaha Works opened in 1958. Western Electric acquired in 1943, the old Grad and Winchell buildings located at Haverhill, Massachusetts. New Jersey supervisors taught former textile and shoe workers the manufacturing process of coil winding. The employees' acquired skills demonstrated their versatility in this new manufacturing process for
8835-843: Was the acquisition in 1931 of the Nassau Smelting and Refining plant located in Totenville, Staten Island, New York to recycle Bell System scrap wire, metal, and becoming a subsidiary of Western Electric. The acquisition of the Queensboro factory in Middle Village, New York became a Western Electric Shop in the 1930s to produce wooden telephone booths. In 1974, the IBEW members at Western Electric's 16 plants went on strike over improved benefits, cost‐of‐living adjustments, and pay increase for up to three years. The ratified contract
8930-432: Was the first female Western Electric employee to be given permission to stay on after she had married. This set a precedent in the company, which previously had not allowed married women in their employ. Miss Heacock had worked for Western Electric for sixteen years before her marriage, and was at the time the highest-paid secretary in the company. In her memoirs, she wrote that the decision to allow her to stay on "required
9025-486: Was under Kearny Works. The 1960s and 1970s had various new facilities built and occupied by Western Electric to produce new technologies such as electronic switching equipment (Dallas and North Illinois), fiber optic cable networks (Atlanta), power systems (Phoenix), business equipment (Denver), and telephone equipment (Shreveport). In 1970, Western Electric purchased land in Bishop Ranch, San Ramon, California for
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