Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company Warehouse

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The Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Company’s four-story reinforced concrete warehouse and repair facility was built between 1926 and 1927, and served for many years as the central location for storage and maintenance of telephone equipment and vehicles.

The company’s largest building when it opened, it is both an excellent example of an industrial interpretation of the Art Deco style and an essential component of an integral system of buildings designed not just for function but to evoke the modernity of a consumer product. The stepped parapets along the roofline, subtle vertical accents at the corner bays, and front entry detailing provide the building’s clear architectural expression of the style. New York architects McKenzie, Voorhees and Gmelin were the designers, as they were for many buildings constructed for Bell Telephone affiliates nationwide.

DC Inventory: April 27, 2006
National Register: May 14, 2007