Our LUG did local landmarks for our recent show. I chose to do a few modular sized/style buildings around town.

One of which is the Telephone Building. It was built in 1894 by the architect Thomas Rogers Kimball. It was finished in 1896 as one of (if not THE) first telephone exchange in eastern Nebraska.

There was something about the color change and style of the building that made me want to build it. I have no personal connection or affinity for the building.

We start off with the official building to compare against.

It has a bookstore Francie & FInch on the main level. I am unsure what is in the upper floors. I thought the dark tan and medium nougat worked well against a dark green window and covered stairwell.

Next we have an angled side look at the wall facing the alleyway. (I have actually modified this since taking this photo. I didn't realize until I started this topic). I changed the dark bley tile to make that section longer and used medium nougat behind it to blend better. I assume that section actually attached telephone wires to different sections.

Full side view now. You can see the green stained glass window and the stairwell really well here.

Close-up of the front seating area, tree, shrubbery, and front of the bookstore.

I hope everyone enjoys it. It was a lot of fun building a local building. I plan on doing more in the future. I have another one from that show that I will post later. I don't want to clog the forum board with new posts.

Very nice building!

I worked in Telephone Exchange buildings in New Zealand for nearly 20 years. That were not a pretty as this one. Well done :)

 

Great Job. It compares perfectly with the real building. Of course you had to compromise the side a little bit due to the difference in depth. But other than that it is excellent!

Even without the real building to compare it against, that's a great looking building you made! Love it.

Dark Tan is such a beautiful color and here it is perfectly used. Very great rendition of the original!

This looks great, I really liked how the covered stairs turned out. 

This is fabulous - not only does it match the original almost perfectly, it's beautifully constructed to boot. I think we're all suckers for brownstones with earth tones and dark green. I like the ground floor storefront - really fits in with the rest of the MOC. Nice job reproducing the windows on the facade too.

Killer building. If you had instructions I'd be happy to buy them.  And please go ahead and make more posts about quality buildings like this!

 

Thanks for the kind words. I have recently dropped this MOC off at the book store and it is on display there for her patrons to see. That should be fun.

I do not have instructions. I build as I go without the use of any computers. I draw a few things out before hand, but nothing worth showing how it is built per se.

I did have a lot of fun with this. I think the colors worked really well together. I recently built 2 other nougat colored buildings prior to this one, so I was running a bit low.

Translates very well to Lego. Builds like this make one really understand how far Lego has come. Superb!

Well composed monumental facade. I like the colour change on the side wall and the main face, reflecting how more representative material is used on the public side. The stair box looks also very nice.

Telephone exchange buildings are interesting genre of architecture from turn of the 20th century. Helsinki has one that looks like a medieval fortress, having a big contrast with the modern invention, telephone. But it's an excellent building.

Stunning build! Looks practically identical to the real life model.

Thank you. Thank you.

I looked up that Helsinki telephone building. That was really cool to see, but definitely caught me off guard since it isn't what you'd expect.

Very interesting design. I've worked in exchanges for 15 years and none of the buildings I visit are as old as this. I like the shop doorway and the job you've done on the stairwell. Well done!

This looks excellent. I like this style of architecture also .

Thank you all. I am glad people can get some enjoyment from this MOC. I usually don't get a lot of positive feedback on here, so unsure if it was my build ability or source material.

2 hours ago, TheLegoDr said:

Thank you all. I am glad people can get some enjoyment from this MOC. I usually don't get a lot of positive feedback on here, so unsure if it was my build ability or source material.

So just go with both.  Anyway very nice moc.

I used to work at a call center. Not as nice looking as this one. The one I worked for was too business looking.

I was just frontpaged! I've been a member for 8 years and this is my first frontpage. I am honored and it really is a dream come true! Thank you to the moderator that frontpaged my build. It really means a lot!

Nice. Although the lower bricks are still painted the same color as the top bricks.

Lovely building! I love the main wall and how it looks perfect compared to the real thing!

2 hours ago, Viper Knight said:

Nice. Although the lower bricks are still painted the same color as the top bricks.

I guess I don't understand what you mean. If you are referring to the window panes, then the LEGO version is accurate to how it looks now. The picture is the only picture I could find online that represented overall how it looked with the side stairwell. It has gone through different modifications over the years, so finding an up to date picture was difficult. And it is enough of a hassle that I was/am unable to just go there and take a picture of it myself.

If you are referring to something else, then please inform me. I don't understand. Thanks for looking.

Looks really good :) Also the colours work well together.

I like how it's so different from the official modular buildings but still works really well. One detail I particularly like is how you used the ridges of tiles to create a subtle effect on the corners. It creates a variety of textures that works really well. The separate color for the side wall makes it much more lively as a Lego building, so great choice. Also the subtle use of plates (also in dark orange) on the side wall works really nicely. The black, the greenery and the flowers on the ground floor add a bit of color, making it a really nice composition that separates the gray floor and tan tower.