New Toronto , Ontario — Central Canada (North America)

Bell Telephone Company Building

1926

Photographed by Tim Boyd, September 7, 2026

1. Bell Telephone Company Building Marker

Inscription. Designed in Edwardian Classical style by Montreal architect W. J. Carmichael, this building was constructed to accommodate the switching equipment, switchboard operators, and technicians needed for Bell Telephone's rapidly expanding service in this area. Prior to automated call routing, operators would direct each telephone call to its requested number. The first local phone calls were routed from a drug store in New Toronto, where a switchboard was in operation by 1914. By 1925, Bell Telephone employed 26 people in the area, and one year later, this new facility was completed on an increasingly industrial section of Birmingham Street, By 1929, fifty-two staff worked here, and handled a daily average of 13,000 phone calls in an area including Humber Bay, the Town of Mimico, the Town of New Toronto, and Long Branch. This Bell Telephone Company building was extended to the east in 1948, and continued to serve Bell until 1981.

Designated under the Ontario Heritage Act 2008

Erected 2008 by Heritage Toronto.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Communications.

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In addition, it is included in the Canada, Toronto Heritage series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1929.

Location. 43° 36.217′ N, 79° 30.309′ W. Marker is in Toronto, Ontario. It is in New Toronto. It is at the intersection of Birmingham Street and Sixth Street, on the right when traveling west on Birmingham Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 80 Birmingham St, Toronto ON M8V 3W6, Canada. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater Toronto

and on the Golden Horseshoe.

It is also in Central Canada.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Great Lakes,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony,

the Viceroyalty of New France,

the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

and Rupert’s Land.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies: New Toronto Filtration Plant/Lakeshore Pumping Station (approx. one kilometer away); Long Branch Race Track (approx. 1.7 kilometers away); Lakeshore Asylum Cemetery c.1890-1979 / Cimetière de l'asile du boulevard Lakeshore Vers 1890 a 1979

Photographed by Tim Boyd, September 7, 2026

2. Bell Telephone Company Building Marker

Facing east

(approx. 1.8 kilometers away); The O’Connor-Lafferty House (approx. 2 kilometers away); Flight Lieutenant David Ernest Hornell, V.C. (approx. 2.2 kilometers away); Eden Court (approx. 2.3 kilometers away); Queensway Market Gardens (approx. 2.5 kilometers away); Sir Adam Beck School and the Summer of ‘36 (approx. 3.5 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Toronto.

Architectural drawing of the west elevation of the Bell Telephone Company Building 1926 image. Click for full size.

3. Architectural drawing of the west elevation of the Bell Telephone Company Building 1926

Public domain

Credits. This page was last revised on September 11, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 11, 2026, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. This page has been viewed 6 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on September 11, 2026, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.