This Year's Main Attraction - Our 1892 "Bell Room" Vanity Desk Set
The Virginia Telephone Museum
Open House Tours
Friday October 3, 2014
9:00 am - 2:00 pm
Saturday October 4, 2014 9:00 am - 2:00 pm
Sunday October 5, 2014 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Free and Open to the Public
Richmond was the first southern telephone
exchange established on April 1, 1879
located on the top floor of a building at Main and Thirteenth streets. The
following
100 years of equipment, displays, and stories will be presented by:
The Pioneers of the
Telephone Industry - New Vision Pioneers
Alexander Graham Bell Chapter - Washington D.C.
Old Dominion Chapter - Richmond, Virginia
713 E. Grace Street Richmond, Virginia 23218
This Year's Main Attraction - Our 1892 "Bell
Room" Vanity Desk Set
History of the Telephone Pioneers
The Museum began assembly in 1991 in the
back of the Pioneer Office at 3520 Elwood Avenue in Richmond, Virginia.
Dedicated retirees gathered exhibits, wired switchboards to phones, set up
displays, cataloged items and finally opened in May of 1993 during the annual
Old Dominion Pioneer Reunion. Exhibits expanded over the years,
with corporate contributions of equipment representing telephony over the years
from outside plant, central offices, pbx's and private homes. Photos, tools,
paper records, manuals and payroll cards represented a portion of items.
Building signs, Vail Awards, photographs, newsletters and even some of a
retiree's personal library accumulated in 1999. Bell Atlantic was completing a
merger with Nynex and advised staff that the Ellwood building was to be vacated.
That move was delayed until the GTE-Bell Atlantic merger formed Verizon. After
things settled from that merger, Verizon provided space for the Museum in the
713 E. Grace Street building. Packing began in September 2004, with the move
completed in October of the year. Setup at the new location was completed in the
spring of 2005, with the official opening in June. All work after the move has
again been done by retiree volunteers. The new location has a library space,
which holds telephony and Pioneer items for research and simply browsing.
Currently the museum is open by appointment, by calling 800-423-3422. School
class trips are always welcome, and funds are available to assist with the cost
of school busses to transport students to and from the Museum. Additional
volunteers are always welcome. For information call the pioneer office.
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