Established by retired employees from ED TEL, this museum houses an astounding array of items related to telephone technology. Ranging from wooden wall phones and rotary dial phones, as well as novelty telephones and novelty phones – its collection traces 100 years of progress in telephony!
Although it operates with just two and one half full-time positions, this venue manages to achieve balance between being an area for telecoms enthusiasts to come geek out, while providing local history buffs a spot where they can explore local history.
Manual System Telephones
Through most of the 20th century, manual system telephones were connected via switchboards at central phone exchanges. This technology allowed customers to contact other local phone users or even long distance services through telecommunications technology.
This museum showcases an extraordinary array of telecommunications equipment and artifacts that showcase Edmonton’s long history in this field, such as working switching equipment. Knowledgeable docents – current and retired telecom employees – are on hand to guide visitors through exhibitions and demonstrate equipment.
The New Hampshire Telephone Museum in Warner was started as a collection of phone materials by Dick Violette of Merrimack County Telephone Co. The museum runs on a tight budget with only two full-time positions and one small building; yet it manages to strike an effective balance between being entertaining without being silly, and educational without being stuffy – truly making this museum one of New Hampshire’s hidden gems!
Dial Telephones
This collection encompasses an impressive assortment of wooden box phones, candlestick phones and classic rotary phones as well as display cases containing an assortment of insulators of various shapes and sizes.
Visitors of all ages can discover Edmonton’s history through interactive displays and hands-on experiences at this museum, featuring historical photos and news articles.
Docents (current and former ED TEL employees who volunteer their time) are available to escort groups through the exhibits and share their expertise, making the Museum an engaging family outing, school field trip or group sight-seeing tour destination. With them at your side, it becomes easy to see, feel and understand how telephony has transformed our daily lives. Furthermore, wheelchair parking and elevator access make sure it remains accessible to people of all ages and abilities – there’s even wheelchair parking!
Wall Phones
Even though antique wall phones may seem similar at first glance, differences in details can make a huge impactful difference to value. Wooden boxes and features such as mouthpieces may vary significantly from phone to phone; these differences affect its overall look as well as how efficiently it will function.
Two box phones are often made of oak but may also feature different wood species for construction. Their transmitter options range from milk bottle transmitters and standard pony receivers, to marked faceplates and even glass windows in some instances.
The museum exudes quirkiness throughout, from its quirky sense of humour to mannequins dressed as telephone operators and Bubba the bear who wears a headset (dial “1” to hear him roar). One of few Alberta museums with a working switchboard (one can dial 1 for Bubba to hear him roar), the collection also reflects Edmonton’s long history in telephone technology from manual switching systems through automatic systems; not forgetting its large library containing books, technical journals and publications!
Switchboards
Telephone Historical Centre Collections holds one of the world’s most extensive collections of antique telephones and related telecommunications technology, showcasing over 100 years of communications technology in Roseville and around the world – with exhibits such as operator switchboards, military telephones, and hundreds of pieces of related equipment such as operator switchboards and military telephones.
One of the museum’s key pieces is an original Step Switch (XY Switch) from Unity Telephone Company of Maine that still works today and was originally used by Clinton Central Office. Additionally, we house partial panel systems and additional XY switches in storage.
The museum also owns two of Britain’s iconic red telephone kiosks (K6 boxes) that still define roadsides and city streets across Britain today, making an impressionable addition to its collection of kiosks in North America. Furthermore, unlike similar websites that run pop-up ads or pop-under ads themselves, ours does not run them, encouraging our visitors to support us by visiting ad-free.
