Author: Morris Butler
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Museum visitors and past and present Telephone Pioneer members alike find comfort here, amongst old rotary phones and full-scale switchboards.

Archival materials at Edmonton include vintage telephone directories dating back to 1895; technical manuals and books covering telecom technology and history.

Included among the memorabilia is an array of novelty phones featuring pickles, Garfield and Volkswagen buses.

Collections

Collections at the museum feature antique and modern telephone equipment, research documents, and archives that shed light on its development. These exhibits span from Alexander Graham Bell’s hand cranked wooden prototypes to automated switchboards of today; all showing how far telephone technology has come since its humble roots as an early telegraph system to what you may now consider an ordinary cell phone in your pocket.

The Museum houses an expansive library and technical journal collection on telecom technology, postcards related to telecom technology and tape recordings from Thomas Watson discussing his work with Alexander Graham Bell in the late 1800s all the way through President Nixon speaking with astronauts on the moon in 1969.

The Museum is an extraordinary space created by retired and active telecom employees who lamented the loss of many artifacts due to building demolition or department closure. Now home to hundreds of items such as operator switchboards, wooden wall phones, decorator phones and red kiosks once found throughout Britain – it represents their struggle against further loss and grief.

Exhibits

Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of the telephone in 1876 revolutionised communication, enabling long distance talking and opening new channels of interaction. Telephone museums today preserve artifacts of early telephone technology ranging from wooden wall-mounted phones that required hand cranking all the way to today’s pocket-sized touch screen cellular phones; commemorating those responsible for making such innovation available to millions around the globe.

THG boasts an extensive archive of vintage Edmonton telephone directories dating back to the 1800s as well as technical manuals and publications related to telephone technology. Furthermore, its collections also include working central office switches such as Panel and Crossbar electromechanical switches – which bring these technologies alive through hands on exhibits and programs which focus on telecom themes and technologies – helping foster enthusiasm among students entering engineering programs, creating generations of workers today!

Programs

No matter your interest – history, collecting or simply communications technology – our collections and programs will satisfy. From the dawn of telephone in late 1800s up until today’s technologies such as smartphones, our displays showcase them all – including real telephones as well as related equipment.

Discover how Alexander Graham Bell revolutionized our way of communicating in 1876 when he created and patented his revolutionary invention – our archives contain vintage Edmonton phone directories, technical manuals and books on telecomm as well as oral histories from former telecom employees.

The Telephone Historical Centre was created by a group of retired ED TEL employees and opened on December 3rd 1987 in an old exchange building located in Old Strathcona. Later it relocated to its permanent site at Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre in central Edmonton where it continued offering engaging tours for both groups and individuals alike. Unfortunately, its foundation eventually disbanded due to relevancy, financial constraints, and structural concerns in April 2019.

Events

The Museum is an interactive history of the telephone. Visitors can see and touch actual handsets that helped lay the groundwork for computers, cell phones and other forms of telecommunication technologies. Group tours as well as individual visits provide visitors with an unforgettable museum experience.

Its collections include wooden wall-mounted magneto and rotary dial telephones, working central office step switches and operator switchboards, outside plant displays of poles, cables, splicing equipment and tools as well as an extensive cataloged telecommunications reference library.

The Jefferson Barracks Telephone Museum is an engaging destination suitable for people of all ages and interests, from young children to adults alike. Its hands-on learning centers encourage the kind of curiosity that powered America’s incredible phone history as well as today’s inventors and innovators. Furthermore, its “Telephone Workshops” provide Boy Scouts an easy way to fulfill engineering merit badge requirements through activities using electricity theory, mathematics and screw drivers demonstrating principles of electrical engineering.

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From candlestick wall phones to the McKinley phone used to contact and announce his assassination, this museum ensures landlines’ history will not fade as mobile phones become the norm. Their collections include working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central office step switches; antique telephones; switchboards; outdoor plant displays with poles cables splicing equipment and tools as well as outdoor plant displays with poles cables splicing equipment and tools – perfect for commemorating landlines’ long history!

Admission

Experience communications technology evolution first-hand by visiting this museum. Their collection promotes engineering through America’s rich telephone history while inspiring an entrepreneurial mindset in today’s inventors and innovators.

This museum boasts one of the world’s premier collections of telephone equipment and related memorabilia, featuring working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central office step switches; antique telephones and switchboards; outdoor plant displays including poles cables splicing tools as well as pole splicing tools; as well as an exhaustive cataloged telecommunications reference library – along with knowledgeable docents who are current or retired telephone company employees offering guided tours through this museum.

This museum also serves as an invaluable resource for Boy Scouts, providing them with interactive exhibits that fulfill their Inventing and Engineering merit badge requirements through hands-on displays. Operated by Charles B Hopkins No 30 Telephone Pioneers of America – an established fraternal organization consisting of both former and current telephone employees who volunteer their services.

Exhibits

At this museum, an eclectic assortment of antique telephones, equipment and other telecommunication items is on display for visitors to experience first-hand the development of communications from its beginning with rotary phones to modern smart devices used today. Perfect for family outings or school field trips; and perfect as part of group sightseeing tours around town!

The museum features a working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central office switch, antique phone booths, operator switches, outdoor plant displays with poles cables splicing tools as well as pole splicing tools as well as pole cable splicing tools as well as an extensive telecommunication reference library. Experienced docents – current or former employees of ED TEL – are on hand to guide groups through its exhibits and demonstrate its various pieces of equipment.

Establish on December 3, 1987 in Old Strathcona neighborhood and relocated two years later for enhanced accessibility, this museum of telephone history is one of the largest hands-on museum of its kind in North America. Displays show how technology has progressed from solid wood wall-mounted, hand-crank magneto phones with operator control to today’s sleek cellular phones.

Docent-Led Tours

Docents (current and retired telco employees who volunteer their time) lead visitors through the museum. They can demonstrate the progression of telephone technology from Alexander Graham Bell’s invention in the attic of his home to modern day cell phones.

Docents should strive to accommodate for multiple learning styles during a tour, for instance by asking students to draw or write poetry in galleries as it allows them to focus their attention and express themselves creatively in other ways than verbally.

Docents must make a one-year commitment to giving four tours per month as docents. Beyond scheduled tours, docents may assist museum information counter staff by answering visitors’ daily inquiries; doing this helps docents gain more insight into visitor questions they can address during tours as well as receiving special training to teach about particular exhibits during assigned tours; sometimes docents will also wander through galleries engaging individuals or small groups for informal tours and conversations that arise naturally within galleries.

Special Events

Telecom Pioneers, a non-profit 501(c)(3) Bell System employee service organization, operates this museum featuring one of the world’s premier collections of antique phones and equipment. Established in 1987 and relocated two years later for greater accessibility, this hands-on museum illustrates the development of communications technology from Alexander Graham Bell’s attic workshop to today’s wireless devices. This collection features working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central office switches; antique phones, switchboards and operator switches; outdoor plant displays featuring poles, cables and splicing equipment tools; cataloged telecom reference libraries and knowledgeable docents (current or retired telecom employees who volunteer their time) who accompany visitors throughout the museum.

Roseville Museum of Telephone History offers visitors an interactive, immersive learning experience on the history and evolution of telephones. Here you’ll find wooden box phones, candlestick phones and classic rotary dial phones from years gone by as well as replicas of small town America independent telephone exchanges as well as antique line insulators.

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Telephone Historical Centre

One of the largest telephone museums in North America, this museum showcases a comprehensive history of telecom technology dating back to Alexander Graham Bell’s attic workshop in 1876. You’ll find everything from crank wall phones and rotary dialers up through sleek cell phones – something no other museum in North America offers.

Full operational pieces illuminate the social and technical significance of communications advances, including working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central office switches, step-by-step private automatic branch exchange displays, as well as outside plant displays featuring poles, cables and splicing tools.

History

Since 1990, Telecommunications History Group (THG) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded by both active and retired telecom employees to collect and preserve historic materials that may otherwise be lost through building demolition or use changes. Our founders saw how such items were being left behind when buildings became outdated or were no longer needed, leading them to create this organization to preserve them for posterity.

The museum houses one of the largest collections of telephones in North America. Ranging from solid wood wall phones with rotary dials and working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central office switches to antique phones, switchboards, outdoor plant displays including poles and cables as well as a cataloged telecommunications reference library, it offers visitors an exciting variety of equipment on display.

Since opening on December 3rd 1987 in an old Telephone Exchange building in Old Strathcona, the museum has relocated to Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre for improved accessibility. Experienced docents both current and retired telecommunications employees provide tours through all exhibits of the museum for both groups or individual visits.

Exhibits

Today, making telephone calls seems almost like magic: simply pick up your cell phone and press a button – suddenly you are speaking with mom in Philadelphia or a friend in New York! However, that wasn’t always the case.

The museum commemorates over a century of telecom history and boasts one of the largest collections of communications equipment in North America. A knowledgeable docent will lead each tour.

Visitors learn about the history and evolution of telecom technology from solid wood wall mounted candlestick phones to sleek mobile phones, with displays featuring working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central office step switches; display cases filled with antique wooden box phones; candlestick telephones and novelty phones as well as outside plant displays with poles, cables, splicing tools and equipment – as well as an extensive telecommunications reference library – making for an interactive visit!

This unique museum could easily have fallen victim to outdated technology or become bogged down with details about hyperlocal history; yet, it strikes just the right balance – providing visitors with a fun family outing, educational school field trip experience or simply another stop along any sightseeing tour of the area.

Admission

Telephone Historical Centre is an incredible museum dedicated to our most essential communications device – phones. Visitors will gain an amazing look into their history from Alexander Graham Bell’s Gallows Frame phone through to St Louis’ first commercial telephone installed in 1878, plus operator switchboards, military telephones from World War I through Gulf War, classic red K-6 telephone boxes and much more!

The museum provides an enjoyable self-guided experience, and is open to the public. Situated in Water Street neighbourhood, with several parking options nearby (street and garage parking available); also there are public lots and garages within a six minute walk offering parking validation to members. Established by retired ED TEL employees and opened to visitors in 1987. Now located within Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre of Edmonton.

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Established in 1987, Telephone Historical Centre preserves Edmonton’s telecom history by collecting, organizing, documenting and exhibiting. It features working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central office switches; antique phones; switchboards; outdoor plant displays with poles and cables spliced together as well as an organized library on telecom history; knowledgeable docents from ED TEL and other phone companies serve as guides through exhibits; various parking options are nearby including free street parking or metered spaces within six minutes walk from the museum; there’s even an enclosed public lot that’s only six minutes walk away – everything you could ever need for your telecom history research needs!

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Telephone Historical Centre Outreach Programs

Telephone museums provide an interactive history of communications technology. Ranging from solid wood wall-mounted phones with manual dialing mechanisms that required operators assistance through to modern day touchscreen cellular smartphones, these museum collections showcase creativity, craftsmanship, and ingenuity of past communications technologies.

As part of its response to the Covid-19 pandemic, HBEC designed a telephone outreach project that engaged older adults in research registries while offering resources tailored specifically for their needs. In this article we highlight key outcomes and lessons learned from this initiative.

Museum of Telecommunication History

The Museum of Telecommunication History features an impressive array of telephones, switching equipment and memorabilia from across its 125 year history. Exhibits trace this development from Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of wall-mounted phones in 1876 through to pocket-sized cell smartphones used today – as well as how technological innovation transformed society and culture.

Visitors to this museum can experience the history of telecommunications through working switchboards and hands-on activities, special events, workshops, and Ziva’s Corner for children that teach about mail and telecom history.

The Museum of Telecommunications is an initiative of the Telecommunications Pioneers, an organization composed of active and retired telecom employees who volunteer their time and services in order to keep it operating. Housed within an historic 1896 building, this museum displays antique telephones and switching equipment; open to visitors without charge or membership requirements.

John K. La Rue’s Museum of Telephony

The JKL Museum of Telephony, formerly the American Telephone History and Technology Museum, is dedicated to preserving telephone history. This collection displays working telephones from their birth in late- 1800s through to modern technology; including historical mechanical central office type switches as well as an extensive technical library full of books, catalogs and training material related to telecom.

The Museum features a diverse array of antique telecommunications equipment and collectibles, as well as artifacts from Alexander Graham Bell’s attic workshop. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, donations to support its mission can also be accepted by this non-profit institution.

Last week, California’s devastating wildfires claimed another victim: Mountain Ranch’s JKL Museum of Telephony was devastated in Mountain Ranch by California wildfires just one hour southeast of Sacramento. This unusual museum, named for owner John K. La Rue whose initials appear above number five on most telephone dials -was home to antique phones and telecom memorabilia treasure trove which will never again exist according to blog posts written about them; their loss marks both cultural and historical loss for California.

The Telephone Museum of Michigan

One can experience an enjoyable museum visit in Michigan’s Telecommunications History Museum – featuring over 1,800 telephones dating from the late 1800’s up until modern-day technology – including candlestick wall phones, rotary dial phones and Kellogg universal switchboards for manual line switching exchanges prior to automated systems becoming the standard.

The museum phone collection also showcases various novelty phones with distinctive shapes and colors, such as yellow banana phones and blue clown phones. There are even caricature phones of famous figures like Alf, Bozo, and Mickey Mouse on display!

The museum operates as a non-profit corporation under 501(c), managed by volunteers from both the local community and Bell System retirees. It provides guided tours and interactive experiences to both groups and individuals, while maintaining a research archive and making connections between other telecom museums around North America.

The Telephone Museum of Texas

The Telephone Museum of Texas offers an engaging collection of communication equipment and history located in Muenster, TX. A great option for family visits or school field trips alike, this unique attraction adds excitement and fun to any sightseeing itinerary.

The Museum offers an exquisite selection of antique phones from pre-Apple golden age communications. This includes rare “gallows frame phones”, only ever produced five times worldwide and classic rotary dial phones used by James Stewart and Donna Reed in It’s A Wonderful Life movie.

The museum houses a collection of telephone memorabilia and offers interactive displays that depict how communication technology has developed over time. Furthermore, Telephone Workshops give participants of all ages a hands-on engineering experience through activities such as taking stuff apart and wiring components – encouraging enthusiasm for engineering as well as encouraging entrepreneurialism that gave rise to innovative telecommunications technologies and developing greater appreciation of our state’s natural environments.

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Telephone Historical Centre Collections is an unprecedented museum dedicated to telephone technology that showcases more than a century’s worth of innovation in Roseville and throughout North America. This extraordinary display covers more than one century’s worth of telephone history!

This unique museum houses manual operator switchboards and an expansive assortment of telephone equipment – making it an excellent destination for family outings, school field trips and group sight-seeing tours.

The Bell Collection

Our mission is to inspire a passion for engineering by using phone history as a vehicle to showcase innovation and invention, through displays of working equipment illustrating communication technology’s history.

This collection showcases manual system telephones from around the world, such as Alexander Graham Bell’s Gallows frame phone and Thomas A. Watson’s Thumper phone – two pioneering examples that use the stepping switch principle that was essential in developing telephony. Furthermore, there is also a full sized Central Office type switching system connected to other pieces of equipment in the collection for visitors to interact with.

Archival material includes photographs chronicling the development of telecommunications in Edmonton during an important period in its history, making this collection an important source of documentary heritage for this time of significant social transformation. Recognized by UNESCO as an Important Cultural Heritage Site, this collection serves as a valuable resource for students, scholars and the general public alike to explore.

The JKL Collection

The JKL Museum is dedicated to the preservation of all aspects of telephony. It houses an impressive selection of telephones from around the world dating back as far as 1876; including Alexander Graham Bell’s original 1876 Inventor’s Phone!

It boasts one of the most extensive collections of historic telephones in the US, along with unique operator switchboards, military telephones dating from WWI through Gulf War service and novelty phones from around the globe.

The JKL Collection is also home to iconic red telephone kiosks designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott that have graced Britain’s roadsides since 1920, as designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott himself and remain ubiquitous across the UK today. To preserve them and ensure they continue being enjoyed and treasured for future generations. Anyone owning one should reach out when repair or painting work needs doing; doing so ensures these stunning artifacts remain available and timeless for everyone’s enjoyment and cherished throughout time.

The ATCA Collection

ATCA members can get involved with our ongoing efforts to develop solutions for global air traffic management by attending webinars, conferences, educational programs, technology exhibitions and collaborative working groups. Membership also gives you access to committees that promote open dialogue within aviation community while keeping us safe and efficient.

The ATCA Collection comprises an impressive array of contemporary artifacts and documentation spanning Fluxus, event arts and happenings, book works with visual poetry, artists’ videos and correspondence art – comparable to holdings found at Getty Research Institute and Museum of Modern Art.

ATCA designers sought high’resolving power,’ or the ability to see detail, and narrow spectral line radio signals (which represent signatures from interstellar gas clouds and stellar envelopes). Furthermore, they designed in an ability to measure polarisation – where radio waves can be directed in certain ways instead of randomly moving back and forth).

The THG Collection

The THG Collection houses an eclectic range of antique telephones and telecom technology, such as switchboards and Edmonton’s first manual phone imported in 1898. This rich archive offers research material to students studying GDR literature and culture – particularly those interested in issues surrounding dictatorship, media control, art directed by totalitarian states, artist roles and more.

THG Paris, the luxury sanitaryware and bathroom fittings manufacturer, prides itself on innovative collaborations, tailored customization services and top quality. Its Atelier Series showcases an impressive variety of designs that represent French artisan craftsman traditions while remaining timeless and current. With collections such as Ice, which provides a sleek aesthetic; Color, which delivers sophisticated style; Delta for contemporary elegance; and Montaigne as an homage to French marble, THG offers faucet and shower solutions to meet the vision of any designer. From porcelain sinks that appear like sculptures to showers that turn into invigorating rainforests – every THG piece whispers an assurance of superior quality and lasting beauty.

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