File:TELEPHONE BUILDING-931 14th Street.JPG

English: TELEPHONE BUILDING

931 14th Street National Register 1/26/2005, 5DV.522

The 1929 Telephone Building is important for its association with the growth and development of telephone communications in Denver and the Rocky Mountain region. The building served as the headquarters of the seven-state region Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph (later Mountain Bell) from 1929 until 1984. Architecturally, the building is one of the finest examples in the country of the American Perpendicular style, designated by the Bell system as "Modern American Perpendicular Gothic." The distinctive characteristics of the style reflected in the building are the expressed verticality, steel framework, terra cotta sheathing, varied setbacks, continuous piers, stylized towers, recessed spandrels, and Gothic Revival style ornament. The building is the largest and most important commercial design of prominent Denver architect William N. Bowman. Bowman designed the building in conjunction with local Bell system engineers and it was erected by local builders and craftsman utilizing a variety of products from around the state. The building’s design took advantage of the setback provision of the city’s zoning ordinance, permitting buildings to rise higher than the nominal height limit of twelve stories if higher stories were setback from the wall-plane.