During the 1950s and 60s, AT&T erected tons of microwave relay towers throughout the United States. They were part of the Long Lines network, a transcontinental telecommunications system. Today, the towers’ imposing presence persists: Part of an old central office, one of them is the tallest building in downtown Muncie!
The original iteration of Muncie’s Bell Telephone building was two stories tall1. A 100-foot microwave tower was added to its roof in 19652. The unusually-shaped structure that exists today was built five years later to enclose its convex microwave antennas at the top3.
Rising about 165 feet, the tower beamed a signal nineteen miles southwest to Anderson4. Once AT&T ended the Long Lines program, the microwave antennae were removed in 19945. Today, the building is still part of Muncie’s telephone infrastructure. It’s one of several local landmarks I designed in LEGO.
Sources Cited
1 Penticuff, D. (1997, June 15). Tower talk. The Muncie Star Press. p. 45.
2 Moran, L. (1966, July 7). New Area Phone Services Due Oct. 16. The Muncie Star. p. 1.
3 New Bell Telephone Building Look (1969, October 30). The Muncie Evening Press. p. 1.
4 Long Lines Map and Information (n.d.). Web. Map. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
5 (See footnote 1).
