I should probably remember to mention the Museum of Communications in Seattle, (formerly the Vintage Telephone Equipment Museum), operated by Washington Chapter 30, TelecomPioneers.
The musuem is located at: 7000 East Marginal Way S Seattle, Washington 98108 (206) 767-3012
(just down the street from the Museum of Flight) and is open Tuesdays from 8:30am to 2:00pm or by appointment.
They have a large collection of phones, switches, tools, etc covering several floors. They share building space with a USWest central office.
From the moment you walk in the door, you are surrounded by old communications technology, from magneto phones to broadcast radio transmitters, from telegraph to teletype.
They have working #1, #5 and #755 crossbar, Step-by-Step, and #3ESS, as well as a Panel switch, believed to be the only working panel switch anywhere in the world.
If you are ever in Seattle, check it out ... Arrive early, as there is a lot to see. It is amazing just how much equipment they have managed to shoehorn into the space that they have.
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Pacific Bell also has/had a small museum at their headquarters at
140 New Montgomery Street in San Francisco. I have not been there in years, and I do not know the status of it.
The Roseville Telephone Company (Now SureWest) has a telephone museum in Roseville, California (Near Sacramento)
for more links see:
-- Welcome My Son, Welcome To The Machine -- Bob Vaughan | techie @ tantivy.net | | P.O. Box 19792, Stanford, Ca 94309 |
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