The Telephone Museum boasts an amazing collection of communications technology from years gone by. Take a spin around our working switching station or learn about Winter Park Telephone Company’s roots in Maitland; there’s something here for everyone.
Exhibits at this museum include an electromechanical Panel and Crossbar Central Office Switch as well as a working Step-by-Step Automatic Branch Exchange; plus antique telephones and hundreds of pieces of related equipment.
General Admission
This museum can be found at Jefferson Barracks Historic Park and features an extensive collection of telephones and associated equipment and memorabilia. Visitors to this self-guided museum will find numerous educational displays to learn more about its rich history.
Telephones have become an indispensable component of modern life, yet few realize how profoundly their creation by Alexander Graham Bell revolutionized world history. At this museum we explore its transformation from its wooden walls, operator-directed designs to today’s pocket sized cell phones used every day.
Archival holdings at the museum include an impressive collection of Edmonton telephone directories and technical manuals dating back to the 1800s, in addition to an electromechanical central office switch and working Panel and Crossbar switch from 1900. Furthermore, an antique phone booth as well as outdoor plant displays featuring poles, cables, splicing equipment and tools as well as numerous telephone-related artifacts can also be found there. Ultimately, its mission is to acquire, research, organize, document, display and archive historical items related to telecommunications – something it does impressively well.
Special Events
At Jefferson Barracks Park, this self-guided museum boasts an extensive collection of telephones and equipment as well as various hands-on exhibits that demonstrate “how things work”. There are also operator switchboards, military telephones dating from WWI through Gulf War as well as hundreds of pieces of equipment and tools – not to mention novelty phones from novelty phone manufacturers and statues honoring Alexander Graham Bell all part of this unique experience!
The Edmonton Telephone Historical Centre was a non-profit organization created to collect, research, organize, document, exhibit and store historical materials related to telecom in Edmonton. Established on December 3rd 1987 and moving into its current home at Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre in 2004 for group tours or individual visits, its museum features both group tours as well as individual ones; learning center that illustrates communications principles a multi-media Historical Telecommunications Theatre Show as well as a Resource Centre which contains an archive of over one century’s worth of telephone directories & technical manuals dating back as well.
Video Visits
Securus Technologies provides inmates with a remote video visitation system to communicate with friends and family using high speed internet, microphone and speakers on a computer. Before purchasing sessions on this site, visitors should ensure their device meets minimum system requirements to ensure optimal experience.
Cell phones are not permitted for either on-site or remote video visits at our facilities, nor may visitors use them to take photographs or videos of inmates, which could result in their visit being terminated immediately. Visitors must remain seated during all aspects of the visit.
Individuals in custody housed in General Population, Restricted Housing or Health Care Unit are allowed seven scheduled video visits each calendar month with approved Confidential Visitors approved by a Corrections Officer to have video visits with an inmate. Clothing which exposes any body part such as cleavage, back, midriff or anything similar will not be permitted during visits with inmates.
Parking
Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre provides plenty of parking in their lot – free of charge.
The Telephone Historical Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, was founded by retired employees of Edmonton D TEL in 1987 to preserve its history of telecommmunications in Edmonton and area. Opening on December 3, 1987 in Old Strathcona’s former telephone exchange building; then later moving to its current location at Prince of Wales Armouries on April 10, 2004 as an accredited member of Museums Alberta with hands-on exhibits as well as offering its historical Telecommunication Theatre Show for groups and individuals alike.
Explore how communication technology has developed over time with this fascinating collection. Various hands-on displays help both children and adults to understand how this vital innovation has progressed over time.
