Old Stockholm telephone tower

Old Stockholm telephone tower
Old Stockholm telephone tower
Telefontornet
	The telephone tower around 1890
General information
Status	Demolished
Location	Stockholm, Sweden
Address	Malmskillnadsgatan 32
Country	Sweden
Coordinates	59°19′54″N 18°03′58″E / 59.331657°N 18.066029°E
Completed	1887
Renovated	1890; 1913; 1939
Demolished	1953
Landlord	Stockholms Allmänna Telefon AB
Height
Antenna spire	80 metres (260 ft)

The Old Stockholm telephone tower (Swedish: Telefontornet) was a metallic structure built to connect approximately 5,500 telephone lines in the Swedish capital of Stockholm. Constructed in 1887, the tower was used until 1913. It was damaged by a fire in 1952 and demolished the following year.

History

In 1887, Stockholms Allmänna Telefon AB ordered the construction of a tower allowing the connection of about 5,500 overhead telephone lines. The quadrangular metallic structure was 80 metres tall and soon fell out of favour with the local population. The company requested the architect Fritz Eckert to carry out embellishment work, which was when the four turrets were added.

The tower was quickly made obsolete as telephone companies began using underground cables in urban areas. In 1913, underground cabling for telephones was fully completed and the tower no longer served its original purpose. After 1939 it carried advertising for Nordiska Kompaniet. On 23 July 1952 a fire weakened the structure, resulting in its demolition in 1953 on safety grounds.^[1]