Capitol Hill's Telephonic Revolution


Date | Event |
---|---|
1879 | Washington's first telephone service was installed by the National Telephone Exchange in 1879. |
1880 | A resolution was approved to install one telephone for the House of Representatives lobby, provided the expenses were covered by the National Telephone Exchange Company. The Doorkeeper was assigned to oversee the installation and use of the telephone. |
1882 | The Doorkeeper of the House received authorization to hire one additional Page to take charge of the telephone in the House lobby. |
1883 | The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company assumed control of the telephone lines in 1883. Telephone lines were installed between the Capitol and the Office of Public Grounds. Lines connected the Capitol to the Departments of War, Navy, State Department, and the White House. |
1889 | The Speaker's room, the Clerk's Office, and the Appropriations Committee were among the first offices to have telephone's installed. |
1896 | Telephone lines were installed from the House Folding Room to a new annex at the junction of Massachusetts Avenue and North Capitol Street. |
1897 | Telephone lines from the Capitol to the new Library of Congress Building are run as well as internal lines for the Library of Congress Building. |
1898 | As an operator for Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company, Mrs. Harriott Daley became the first switchboard operator for the Capitol. She was the head switchboard operator at the Capitol for 47 years. |
1908 | The Capitol switchboard was moved from the basement of the Capitol to the Senate annex (B Street, Maltby Building). There were four operators for the 11 am to 4:30 pm shift and two operators for the other hours. The operators serviced 350 telephones. Once the new Senate and House Office Buildings (Russell and Cannon) were completed, the office was moved to Cannon. |
1926 | Mrs. Harriott Daley supervised 15 telephone operators. Roughly 30,000 calls a day came through the Capitol Switchboard. There were 114 trunk lines and 1,603 stations. The service ran 24 hours a day. The 15 female switchboard operators ran the telephones in various capacities from 8 am to 10 pm. From 10 pm to midnight, two men ran the telephones. From midnight to 8 am, one man ran the telephones. The office was located in the Cannon House Office Building on the 5th floor. |
1957 | With 75 operators, the Capitol telephone exchange moved from the Longworth House Office Building to the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The modern luxury of direct phone dialing was introduced to the Capitol Complex. The exchange averaged more than 55,000 calls per day. |
1983 | Capitol operators received more than 22,000 calls a day. The office operated with a staff of 28 operators and four supervisors. |
1993 | President Bill Clinton and Senator Bob Dole of Kansas urged the public to call their Representatives and Senators to complain about the budget. The Capitol received more than two million calls between August 4th and 5th. |
2005 | The Capitol switchboard received more than 45,000 calls per week and employed 34 individuals. The switchboard was manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week. |