AT&T Building in San Marco, what's the deal?

[Bolles_Bull]

Hey, I couldnt find if this has been discussed anywhere.  Whats the deal with the big old AT&T building in San Marco Square?  It seems like it used to be a nice building and I wonder if anything is going on there.  Is it empty? Is AT&T using it?  Anyone ever heard of any plans for it?  It seems like a really underutilized space for being in such a nice area.

[kbhanson3]

My understanding is that it is full of switching equipment, which is why there are no windows, and that it would be very expensive to relocate.  Really unfortunate because it is quite the eyesore in an otherwise charming retail district.

[Captain Zissou]

Avondale has one on Herschel, but it is farther from the actual shops. To the SM locations credit, they did do some facade work to try and make the building slightly more attractive.

[Dog Walker]

One of the original switching buildings in town; one that had real operators in it plugging lines in, is on Forbes Street in the first block from Margaret St.  For a long time now it has been an optometrists office. It's the substantial looking rough red brick building. 

In 1934, my father's business was in 5 Points with the phone number 5451 and was switched through that building.  It was then ELgin-5451, then 355-5451 and is now (904) 355-5451.

[dougskiles]

It would be great to have that property redeveloped into something more appropriate to the neighborhood.  The cost of moving the equipment would be a tough hurdle to overcome.  The cost to move the underground lines leading to it would be astronomical.  My guess is that it doesn't go away until the day comes when fiber optic lines become obsolete.

[acme54321]

Yeah I would imagine the underground infrastructure is substantial.  At least it doesn't have one of the old microwave towers on top of it, if it ever did I don't know.

[ChriswUfGator]

That's the central office for San Marco, St. Nicholas, San Jose, and half the southside, I don't suppose it's going away until people decide they don't want internet or phones which is probably going to be awhile. It does seem like kind of an out-of-place location for it in the middle of a retail district, but I'd guess the cost of moving it would probably be astronomical, there's all sorts of fiber and phone lines that run into those things. There's one in riverside too, as someone noted above, but it isn't in the middle of a retail district so nobody really notices. I don't know what you do about it really, you have to have those in order for things to work.

[Kerry]

I went by it a few days ago and it is undergoing some kind of renovation; scaffolding and wrapped in plastic.  Anyone know what they are doing?

[sonoandrea]

I went by it a few days ago and it is undergoing some kind of renovation; scaffolding and wrapped in plastic.  Anyone know what they are doing?

I noticed that, too, and was wondering the same thing...hope someone knows!

[billy]

I think the original architect was Reid, Adler and Shutze, a notable Atlanta firm known for their neo-classical work..

[spuwho]

I think the original architect was Reid, Adler and Shutze, a notable Atlanta firm known for their neo-classical work..

It won't move in our lifetime. Not only does it support copper pair all the way to University Blvd, but also the fiber trunks to the central Jax CO downtown. Even if it burns down they would rebuild it in place.

Yes technology has made these old CO a little obsolete, but due to the sheer amount of regulated copper it supports, it's not going anywhere anytime soon.

[ChriswUfGator]

I think the original architect was Reid, Adler and Shutze, a notable Atlanta firm known for their neo-classical work..

It won't move in our lifetime. Not only does it support copper pair all the way to University Blvd, but also the fiber trunks to the central Jax CO downtown. Even if it burns down they would rebuild it in place.

Yes technology has made these old CO a little obsolete, but due to the sheer amount of regulated copper it supports, it's not going anywhere anytime soon.

That's a misconception, the fiber goes into the CO, and from there uVerse and voip and everything else go out. Most of what we consider current gen (absent the 4 or 5 markets in the US with full fiber to the home) runs over copper, and that's where it comes from. Half the stuff you use wouldn't work without that building, regulation has nothing to do with it, the stuff people use actually runs out of there.

[spuwho]

I think the original architect was Reid, Adler and Shutze, a notable Atlanta firm known for their neo-classical work..

It won't move in our lifetime. Not only does it support copper pair all the way to University Blvd, but also the fiber trunks to the central Jax CO downtown. Even if it burns down they would rebuild it in place.

Yes technology has made these old CO a little obsolete, but due to the sheer amount of regulated copper it supports, it's not going anywhere anytime soon.

That's a misconception, the fiber goes into the CO, and from there uVerse and voip and everything else go out. Most of what we consider current gen (absent the 4 or 5 markets in the US with full fiber to the home) runs over copper, and that's where it comes from. Half the stuff you use wouldn't work without that building, regulation has nothing to do with it, the stuff people use actually runs out of there.

I think the misconception is yours alone in this cae.

[ChriswUfGator]

I think the original architect was Reid, Adler and Shutze, a notable Atlanta firm known for their neo-classical work..

It won't move in our lifetime. Not only does it support copper pair all the way to University Blvd, but also the fiber trunks to the central Jax CO downtown. Even if it burns down they would rebuild it in place.

Yes technology has made these old CO a little obsolete, but due to the sheer amount of regulated copper it supports, it's not going anywhere anytime soon.

That's a misconception, the fiber goes into the CO, and from there uVerse and voip and everything else go out. Most of what we consider current gen (absent the 4 or 5 markets in the US with full fiber to the home) runs over copper, and that's where it comes from. Half the stuff you use wouldn't work without that building, regulation has nothing to do with it, the stuff people use actually runs out of there.

I think the misconception is yours alone in this cae.

So you claimed copper is obsolete, why don't you show me where we have anything else to the home here? Maybe I was being too polite when I used the word 'misconception.'

[BridgeTroll]

The "last mile" is nearly always copper.