Developer to raze Bell Labs Holmdel facility, birthplace of the cellphone
By Ryan Block 
posted July 5th 2006 1:23PM
posted July 5th 2006 1:23PM
The facility in question, one time Holmdel, New Jersey home to Bell Labs -- one of the most prolific technology innovators of the 20th century -- was owned by Lucent technologies until a recent round of asset liquidations. Barely 40 miles out of New York City, in its heydey the six-story, two million square foot campus, employed over 5,600 people who toiled away in its bowels; it became home to the work of numerous Nobel laureates, and has long since been cemented in the annals of tech history as the birthplace to some of the most important communications technologies ever conceived. And it'll soon be torn down.
Designed and erected between 1957 and 1962 by the inimitable and infamous Eero Saarinen, Holmdel is former home to Bell Labs' optical transmission, microwave, and wireless work, including the High-Speed Networks Research Department, High Speed Mobile Data Research Department, and Data Networking Systems Research Department. It was Holmdel's Wireless Research Laboratory, however, and the work Richard Frenkiel and Joel Engel that ranks among all Bell Labs' most notable contributions. In the early sixties Frenkeil and Engeld led a team of over 200 engineers to develop the first cellular wireless voice transmission technology, and eventually created AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), the first and one of the most widely deployed cellphone technologies (still active even today in many parts of rural America). Holmdel is effectively the birthplace of global wireless movement, possibly the most crucial communications development of the 20th century, the internet notwithstanding. But there's more. Lots more.
So what is to become of this irreplaceable landmark? Well, Lucent sold the site to a billion dollar real-estate developer known as Preferred Real Estate Investments, whose founder and CEO Michael O'Neill remarked the "useful life" of this facility is over. Perhaps O'Neill might is right that as a hotbed of technological ferment and advanced research and development Holmdel's life may have come to an end -- but certainly not so as a historic site for technology and the communications industry. Preferred Real Estate Investments has expressed their intentions not to repurpose the facility as such a historic site, or even retrofit the mammoth campus as an office space anew, but instead to raze and replace it with a three facility office park.
The other option, of course, is to directly petition Preferred Real Estate Investments whose founder and CEO (Michael O'Neill), board of directors, and senior management can all be reached by phone or email here. (We will not post O'Neill's email and phone number here -- they're currently listed under "Principals" -- but we imagine a torrent of phone calls and emails might soon find that page removed from their site, so we assume you, dear readers, will take care of preserving that information for others.) We do not suggest anything but metered, reasonable, and kind -- but firm -- requests of PREI to suck up the financial burden and reinvigorate the Holmdel facility into a museum of science and technology -- perhaps even under the auspices of Lucent -- as well as gutting and repartitioning the old space for use by new technology companies in the New York metro area. Because honestly, it really doesn't take a Bell Labs scientist to see what a remarkable and truly historic monument to man's technological ingenuity the Holmdel facility is -- while it's still around, anyway.
IEEE's "Lab for Sale," Bio of Harald T. Friis
CE Hall of Fame - Richard Frenkiel and Joel Engel
MIT's Inventor of the Week Archive
Bell Labs / Lucent - Penzias and Wilson, Chraplyvy, Walker, and Tkach, Foschini, Linn Mollenauer
Reference.com - Karl Jansky
GA - Saarinen's work at Holmdel
Images via Bell Labs and DLT Consulting
Additional research and thanks to Joseph Ferrara.
Let's teardown every R&D facility and office in America, let's all be unemployed, and let the Chinese and Indians decide whether to make new breakthroughs or not. They probably won't because since no one in the US will have jobs, they'll be no one that can afford to buy them.
Heck let's get rid of NASA and every R&D facility looking for a cure to Cancer. Science and Engineering like you commenters say is dead.
Remember anyone writing to the NJ Historial offices that the State of NJ has closed all non-essential government offices because the state has no budget.
do you imagine the same said about NOT refurbishing let's say the Chrysler buildig in NY? Or saving the Abu Simbel site ?
how many historical or architectural landmarks do you have in the .Us except Mount Rushmore ?
if such Saarinen building is not important, why improving or remodeling quite constantly f.i. the White House ? Tear it down some day , or the water house made by Whright some decades ago, and build there a Caavedra new department store, that would or could be a better idea.
Use the underground tunnels at Pensylvania avenue as a parking place for Humvees .Take a last picture of the show on stage there too, and store it in your wallet for your posterity.
So who realy cares?
Jesus its just an office complex.
Wow, the cell phone was invented there. Great.
Hey, did we save Newton's apple tree?
*shakeshead*
Make a national treasure out of it. Write a nice letter to George W. He will save it. If necessary at gunpoint.
It's a bit late now to say anything about it, as the only people who perhaps had the remotest obligation to preserve it were the original owners. It's totally unrealistic to try and force the new owners to do what *you* want with the site.
As much as I love architecture, it's a sad truth that the site is very much of its time and original purpose, and unfortunately is no longer able to find an appropriate tenant, but is Engadget going to put a bid in to PREI to buy it? I don't think that's going to happen.
The only option now is for anyone who really is interested in the preservation of this place to get a group together and petition the new owners for access to the site so that it can be photographed, documented and (assuming permission can be obtained) objects of historical interest can be retrieved before destruction, all in an organised and methodical manner.
Doing this would be a much more constructive way of keeping the site alive in peoples' memories than a lot of pleading and hand-wringing.
Floor plans, building drawing, blueprints, etc. should also be obtained and scanned in, which shouldn't be too much of a problem as there will be no security implications once the site is cleared.
I began my working life at this facility, having just received my PhD in Physics at age 27. I worked there more than half of my professional lifetime -- I'm now retired. I'm of course sad to hear of its probable demise -- stunned might be a better word. When I joined Bell Labs, it was part of the Bell System, that invincable institution that served the country well for more than a century. The times have changed. That building was built for R&D, and has a layout that would be very difficult to turn into general purpose business space. Lucent tried in the late 90's, and was rather unsuccessful at it. Let's take some good photos of it, and move on.
By the way, in my "retirement" (I hate that word), I'm now doing large format B&W photography -- sort of a modern-day Ansel Adams -- and would love to be invited to photograph a place I know so well, and have such fond memories of.
Given the site's compliance history, it's probably one massive SuperFund site.
http://www.epa.gov/echo/compliance_report.html
I remember when I first visited Holmdel in the 1980's being told that Saarinen had stipulated that nothing in the building be changed for 25 years. Sorry to see
it reach this stage.
The horn antenna at Crawford Hill is already on the National Register of Historic Places since 1989, just google
historic places crawford hill
and a link will come up. The article in the NYTimes doesn't make clear the developer's intent for the Crawford Hill station, which is a couple of miles up the road from the Saarinen building.
As for the Holmdel facility, there's relatively little now to mark Jansky's discovery of radio astronomy; a mockup of his antenna sits on the front lawn of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Va.
I've always thought that future generations of children should understand the evolution of telecommunications technology and computers. The history of this industry should be recorded somewhere. Preserving the building isn't the way to do it. What would be a wonderful testament to New Jersey, the state which was the heart of the telecom industry for generations, would be a museum exhibit somewhere, perhaps the NJ Historical Society, to let people explore the early days all the way through the development of communications technology for the space program, national defense, business needs, home/residential applications, and yes, astrophysics and scientific exploration of our earth and universe. Just the imaging technology alone is fascinating. Having worked in telecom many years, I find it so funny that kids today don't know that my grandparents could have any color phone they wanted as long as it was black. How we got from there to here is quite a history lesson encompassing invention, innovation, economics, social history, culture and entertainment.
Some rich company should commission such an exhibit.
OMG this is my hometown ive been reading engadget for years and this is insane
FROM PREI:
Dear Paul,
Thank you for your comments and your interest in the future of the Lucent facility in Holmdel, New Jersey. Preferred Real Estate Investments is committed to listening to community voices and collaborating with local residents and municipalities. Like you, we have great respect for the vast technological innovations developed at the Holmdel site and the historic significance of the property.
We are extremely sensitive to preserving this vast heritage. It was, in fact, the rich history, pastoral beauty and legacy of invention that first attracted us, and is most important to us moving forward. In this spirit, we must also serve the needs of the township to ensure the success of our redevelopment efforts. A museum or similar use of the existing structure will not achieve this goal.
Bell Labs was about looking forward. We wish to continue this forward-thinking tradition, embodied by the countless inventors and Nobel laureates who passed through Holmdel, the architect Eero Saarinen, and the residents of this beautiful town. We pledge to do more than merely erect a plaque to past achievements; we will save as much of the building as possible, and incorporate a gallery space that pays tribute to both the building architecture and the technological innovations created within.
We believe the best way to honor the past is to bring commerce back to the site ‹ to repurpose the existing infrastructure for the modern age, while preserving the site layout and landscape design. Preferred is not in the business of erecting shopping malls or strip centers; we are commercial redevelopers, we take our business very seriously, and we take the needs of the communities in which we develop with equal sincerity.
...................
Jon A. Bjornson
Director of Communications
Preferred Real Estate Investments, Inc.
Just go to the Murray Hill office (the main one that's still in use) for your Bell Labs nostalgia.
I live about 15 minutes away from this building, and although I do understand the importance of the products that were invented in that building, I dont think its necessary to save this building as a history museum.
#1 Its 2 MILLION square feet - if im not mistaken, thats almost larger than all the smithsonian museums COMBINED - and then some! (The Air and Space museum is about 161,000 square feet.) Can you imagine the upkeep costs of this property? Mowing the lawn, heat, air conditioning... Its impossible to make a museum within this building.
#2 This property is the single largest tax payer in the town of Holmdel, if it turns to a museum, the town will surely lose most if not all of the tax revenue of the property.
#3 This property has a huge water tower (in the shape of a transistor) which everyone who drives past the property sees, and PREI plans on saving that, even if its not going to be used, as a reminder of the Bell Labs property.
Sure, this property had a huge influence on modern technology, but its absolutly ridiculous to suggest that it needs to be saved and preserved for future generations to learn from!
from the book " Eero Sarinen on his Work " ... Yale Univeristy Press 1962.......The laboratories are placed back to back with laboratory utility cores betwen them..... short cross-corridors are joined by two trunk corridors... on the front side totally of glass.... We have used this new basic plan in a much larger and more formal scheme for the Bell Telphone laboratories at Holmdel, New Jersey.....the human and economic advantages of this plan are many. It provides the desired concentration , privacy, flexibility, and easy communication lines. It saves laboratory utility costs. by reducing outside walls, it reduces the overall costs. .....the floor to ceiling windows on the main corridors can be uncovered like open galleries. They present an unobstructed view of the very beautiful landscape and provide a real encounter with nature at the moments of relaxation when one has left office or laboratory...
Now to the other problem :the character of the building and its relation to its site. It has always seemed to me that many scientists in the research field are like university professors.... We wanted to provide them with a relaxed...... outdoor environment as a deliberate contrast to the efficient, precise laboratories and offices.
The beautifully hilly site and the landscape....encourage this aim......a center not architecturally obnoxious to its neighbors...
I worked out of this facility and while it was usefull in its day its ancient history now. So why does everything with one line in history have to be protected as a historical landmark? Tear it down put up a plaque commemorating the park or give it a name that relates to its history but its a building and what I hate are those who think they need to keep it around forever because at one time something important happened there. Its in the textbooks let that be enough and move on people. Take a picture and stuff it in your scrap book.
I would probably still live in NJ had they done this sooner and there were more local jobs in the area of Holmdel instead of having to drive all the way up to parsippany every day to make a decent living. Think of all the trees I killed on my commute next time you give a building too much sentimental value.
Having started in the Bell System in the late '70's at Bell Labs, I made many trips to the Holmdel facility over my career that spanned 20+ years and across AT&T and Lucent Technologies. Something that I don't think anyone pointed out is the white structure in the top of photograph is a water tower in the shape of a transistor. It was a strange site that spurred conversations as you could see it when getting off of Southbound Garden State Parkway at exit 114. If you were taking someone on a visit, they always asked about it. Maybe they should leave the tower up and put a plaque underneath to point out technology accomplishments and patents.
Although quite a lot went on at Holmdel, the holy grail of the Labs was the, I think, 13 buildings that comprise Murray Hill.
As the first occupant of one of the offices at the Holmdel Lab in 1966 (the building was built and opened in 3 stages - Sections 1 and 2 in 1962, Sections 3 and 4 in 1966, and Sections 5 and 6 in 1979), and after working there for nearly 15 very enjoyable years, I feel a special attachment to this place. However, I am currently involved with a number of historical and technical museums in the central and shore areas of New Jersey, and can speak from experience that the Holmdel Lab - despite its rich history - is tremendously outsized for use as a museum. Further, because of its open-flow design, it would be difficult to segment into smaller, more usable spaces. Finally, you can't just tell a company that has just spent x millions of dollars on it that, "Hey. You can't use it. Too bad about those millions you spent, huh?"
My suggestion? Let it go. Create a small but well-done museum either on-site or over at Crawford Hill nearby - the site of the Telstar work and if I'm not mistaken, the Wilson/Penzias "sugar scoop" antenna too. Now, who will pay for this and who will lead the effort? Ay. There's the rub. We don't have a Smithson with a ready wallet. But I did notice in the letter from PREI that they are willing to make some investment in a "gallery space". What that means remains to be seen, but since it's their property, we - the concerned public - can only exert moral 'suasion. Unless, of course, YOUR name is Smithson.
I am very saddened to hear about this facility. My father, Gilbert Stiles was one of the first employees to work at this great facility. He worked with Arno Penzias, and worked with Lynn Mollenauer on Telstar. I also, was priveleged to work at Holmdel in Rich Howard's group which also included Lynn Mollenauer at that time.
My father passed away this passed December 2005 and it saddens me to think that this 2nd generation Bell Labs employee will no longer have this landmark facility, including the water tower, to show my children and grand-children.
It was an honor to work with the greatest group of researchers.
Here are links to two publicity photos that the Bell Labs PR folks sent me several years ago:
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b85/Cable77422/3.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b85/Cable77422/2.jpg
That water tower is supposed to look like a transistor.
As a kid my dad used to work there (before he got the severance package so many got). I always used to jump at the chance to go to work with him because it was just the absolute coolest place on the face of the planet. In many ways, Bell Labs and my father's experience there is why I went into computing in the first place. Seeing all the sheer innovation taking place in that building made me tingle with excitement. I always envisioned myself graduating, eventually getting a job at bell labs, then settling down, enjoying the role I'd be having in working on cutting edge research with a world leader in one of the coolest places around.
Fun fact: The building's HVAC system was designed such that in the winter, the heat given off by the equipment in the laboratories was recycled throughout the building to heat the building. In many ways, one could say that the research sustained the building. Talk about an engineering marvel.
I graduate this year...I am not happy.
There is history and there is practicality. If we were to apply the rule of practicality to every standing structure, we would not have historical monuments/buildings. I bet the "practical" people who want to tear down the Bell Labs Holmdel building also want to tear down the Statue of liberty and build condos overlooking Manhattan on that property. I am sure those units would go at a premium.