Today, picking up the phone to reach out to family and friends across the country feels like magic; but, 100 years ago, there were wires and cords to contend with before connecting your call.
This museum, established by retired ED TEL employees, showcases an assortment of telephone items. Their collection includes working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central-office switches; outdoor plant displays with poles, cables, splicing equipment as well as antique candlestick and crank wall phones as well as novelty phones; working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central office switches are among those on display as are working Outdoor Plant displays featuring poles cables splicing equipment antique candlestick and crank wall phones novelty phones and much more!
Hands-on exhibits
Established by retired ED TEL employees and opened to public access two years later, this museum containing one of North America’s finest collections of telephone related items is truly one-of-a-kind. From working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central office switches, to outside plant displays with poles, cables, splicing equipment tools, antique phones and switchboards plus an expansive cataloged telecommunications reference library – you’ll find something here that speaks to every telecom enthusiast!
Visitors can explore its collection of early wooden wall phones, candlestick phones, princess phones and flip phones – even taking part in old-fashioned rotary dialing experiences!
The Museum’s workshops foster interest in electrical engineering while exploring America’s rich telephone history. Children can explore Alexander Graham Bell’s invention that began a telecommunications empire, then compare its technology to modern cellular phones. The museum itself is located in a restored 1896 building listed on the National Register of Historic Places near Jefferson Barracks Park about 15 minutes southwest of St. Louis.
Group Tours
Telephone Historical Centre provides an exciting experience, whether for students on educational field trips, families on adventure vacations or groups alike. Its museum exhibits cover over a century of communications technology both locally and worldwide – such as working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central office step switches; an operator switchboard; numerous novelty telephones and novelty models; climbing equipment on an entire phone pole as well as numerous tools and devices related to telephone communication technologies.
The museum features one of the country’s premier collections of antique telephones and related equipment, such as crank wall phones, candlestick phones and rotary dialers. There are also multiple cases with insulators of various shapes and sizes on display.
The museum is run by both current and retired telephone employees who love sharing telecommunications history with visitors. Families can come here together to discover its past while Boy Scouts looking to fulfill an engineering merit badge requirement will find this venue particularly useful.
Free parking
The Museum of Telephone History in Roseville offers visitors a captivating collection of antique phones and telecommunication equipment dating back to Alexander Graham Bell himself and up through today’s smart devices. Additionally, this one-level museum boasts working operator switchboards, antique phone booths, rotary dialers, wheelchair accessibility and parking spots available both within society’s lot as well as paid spaces nearby.
This unique museum was established by retired ED TEL employees in 1987 and later relocated to Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre in central Edmonton two years later. Now one of North America’s largest hands-on museums, it provides activities suitable for visitors of all ages; perfect for school field trips and group sightseeing tours alike! Exhibits include working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central office switches; antique phones and switchboards; outside plant displays with poles cables splicing tools as well as a cataloged telecommunications reference library!
Admission is free
Today we may take for granted what was once cutting edge technology – the telephone. At the Museum there is an impressive collection of vintage instruments and equipment which shed light on this industry such as wooden phones, switchboards, crank wall phones and even tools your ancestors used for digging underground lines!
The museum is run by both current and retired telecom employees. Its collection of historic items is one of the largest ever seen, including a working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central office step switch, antique phones, switchboards, outside plant displays featuring poles cables splicing equipment tools plus an extensive telecommunications reference library.
Roseville Telephone Museum offers the perfect destination for family outings, school field trips or group sightseeing tours. Featuring exhibits that chronicle over 100 years of communications technology in Roseville and internationally such as working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical step switches; an operator switchboard; antique telephones; replica of small town independent phone exchange with glass insulators and outside plant displays of poles cables and splicing equipment – these exhibits showcase over 200 years of communications innovation!
