File:Long-distance operators at the Sunset Telephone Company, Seattle, ca 1905 (MOHAI 1833).jpg

The Sunset Telephone Company hired men to set poles and run wiring, and women to operate the switchboards. All calls were connected by hand through the switchboard, and the women who made the connections soon became known as the "hello girls." In this photo, taken sometime between 1903 and 1906, a group of women telephone operators sit at the long distance switchboard in the Sunset Telephone office on Third Avenue. The women wear typical working clothing for the 1900s: a light colored blouse and a dark skirt. Each operator listens to both parties through her headphones, and talks through a speaker hung around her neck.

Handwritten on sleeve: Sunset Telephone Office. Caption by MOHAI staff.

• Subjects (LCTGM): Telephone operators--Washington (State)--Seattle; Telephone switchboards--Washington (State)--Seattle; Lamps--Washington (State)--Seattle