Oficina de Telégrafo y Teléfono

Lore & Background

The Telegraph and Telephone Station of Guaynabo was constructed in 1948 as part of a prototype of three identical Art Deco buildings designed by the Department of the Interior of Puerto Rico. These buildings were built to combine both telegraph and telephone services under one roof, providing a solid, modern, and permanent facility for the installation of automatic telephone systems. The other two were established in Juncos and Aibonito, constructed between 1943 and 1949. These buildings gave a new recognizable physical form to both the telephone company and the telegraph station on the island, and they connected the people of Puerto Rico with the rest of the world.

Of the three original Art Deco prototype buildings built by the Communications Authority of Puerto Rico, only two remain, and the Guaynabo station is the only one still existing of the three constructed in this specific Art Deco prototype. The building today houses the Telegraph Museum, which is administered by the municipal government of Guaynabo and aims to preserve the history of the telegraph and the history of communications in Puerto Rico.

Reader's Guide

The Oficina de Telégrafo y Teléfono holds significance as a key piece in the history of telecommunications in Guaynabo and Puerto Rico. It was one of three identical Art Deco buildings of a prototype that combined telegraph and telephone services, representing a modern and permanent approach to communication infrastructure. These buildings, constructed between 1943 and 1949, were the entities that connected the people of Puerto Rico with the rest of the world. The Guaynabo station is the only surviving example of the Art Deco prototype, making it a rare architectural and historical resource. Its listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012 recognizes its importance. Today, as the Telegraph Museum, it continues to preserve the legacy of the telegraph and the broader history of communications in Puerto Rico, serving as a tangible link to the island's technological and architectural past.

Did You Know?

• The building is one of the few on the island built entirely in the Art Deco style.
• It was one of three identical Art Deco prototype buildings combining telegraph and telephone services.
• The building was constructed in 1948 and added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 3, 2012.
• It is the only remaining Art Deco prototype of the three originally built by the Communications Authority of Puerto Rico.