Father Pitt

Why should the beautiful die?


Bell Telephone Exchange, Sharpsburg

Bell Telephone exchange in Sharpsburg

As Father Pitt has remarked before, telephone exchanges were designed to be ornaments to their neighborhoods, and the Renaissance-palace style was one of the most popular forms for them. This one is on Main Street in Sharpsburg, and it preserves its Renaissance dignity under the ownership of the successor to the Bell System.

Entrance
Pediment
Bell System
Parapet
Corner view

This blank wall on the western end of the building shows two different colors of bricks, suggesting that the building was originally one storey, with the second storey added later. That would explain the cornice at the first-floor level.

Map.


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