Instead of Moving Mountains, They Moved a Building

November 21, 2024

Did you know that between October and November 1930, architects and engineers rotated a building in downtown Indianapolis without disrupting business inside?

LEFT: Indiana Bell Telephone Company Truck, Bass Photo Co Collection, IHS
RIGHT: Central Union Telephone Company, 1910, Bass Photo Co Collection, IHS

What is historically known as the Indiana Bell Building has gone through quite a few name changes throughout its history. Established in 1883, the Central Union Telephone Company of Indianapolis was one of only three telephone firms serving the city. By the 1920s, it and four others were consolidated into the Indiana Bell Telephone Company, employing nearly 5,000 people and serving approximately 170,000 telephones within Indiana (Beck, 2021). This company was part of the American Telegraph and Telephone Company, commonly known as AT&T! After a breakup and a few acquisitions in the late 90s, the business became AT&T, Inc. Note: From now on, I’ll refer to it as the Indiana Bell Building.

Fun fact: If you read my previous blog on the history of women’s rights in Indiana, you can infer there were few job opportunities afforded to white women in the early twentieth century. Impressively, the Indiana Bell Telephone Company was one of few companies that employed women wanting to work!

Central Union Telephone Company Switchboard, Bass Photo Co Collection, IHS

The Indiana Bell Building was constructed in 1907, continuing operations through its name changes and business consolidations. It still stands today at 240 N Meridian St, Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1929, Indiana Bell determined it would need a larger building to meet business needs and developments, and initially planned to demolish the original and build anew. However, they hired Vonnegut, Bohn, & Mueller Architects for the job, who determined the building need not be demolished but simply rotated 90 degrees and moved one hundred feet west. (Side note: The Vonnegut that established the firm was Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.’s grandfather, Bernard Vonnegut Sr.)

Indiana Bell Building During Moving Process, 1930, Bass Photo Co Collection, IHS

According to various local newspaper reports, the rotation began on Tuesday, October 14, 1930. The building was rotated on rollers and T5-ton jacks monitored by 18 men, moving the 11,000-ton building in thirty-one days, ending on Saturday, November 15, 1930. Business continued during the rotation by splicing in heavily armored cables to operate with plenty of slack during the movement. The jacks rotated the building at a rate of 15 inches per hour (38.1 cm), meaning employees within the building couldn’t even tell it was moving while they worked! During this process, more than five hundred long-distance telephone circuits were in use. Pictured below in both photos, a sort of steel sidewalk was constructed to allow entry and exit from the building. Ultimately, the team managed to get the building within one-sixty-fourth of an inch from where it was calculated in the plans by Vonnegut, Bohn, and Mueller.

LEFT: Indiana Bell Telephone Company, building being moved, 1930, P0130 B49F6, Bass Photo Co Collection, IHS. RIGHT: Indiana Bell Building During Moving Process, 1930, P0130 B1F7, Bass Photo Co Collection, IHS

Following the rotation of the building, a seven-story structure was constructed to serve as company headquarters in the spot the Bell Building had been moved from. This construction was completed by 1932, with additions and an annex being added by 1967.

Chloe Redman is an Assistant in the Archives and Library. She is pursuing an MLIS at Indiana University-Indianapolis. She spends her summers at a fishery in Alaska and reads books as fast as Kirby devours buffets.

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