November 30, 2024 • The Telephone Building

A Mile of Mortar Restores the Brick Façade of the Telephone Building

A worker stands on scaffolding while repointing the red brick façade of the historic Telephone Building, using historically accurate mortar during restoration.
A restoration specialist repoints brickwork on the upper floors of the Telephone Building during the full façade restoration.

Restoration crews completed a full repointing of the Telephone Building’s brick façade. The project involved removing and replacing over 5,880 linear feet of mortar joints—nearly a mile in length.

Crews carefully matched mortar color and composition to maintain historic authenticity. Bricks damaged beyond repair were replaced with units matched for size, color and texture. The result was a unified façade that preserved the material character of the original construction while enhancing structural integrity.

This work highlighted the balance of art and science required in historic masonry preservation.

Telephone
A mason reinstalls decorative brick projections, carefully rebuilding the patterned coursing that gives the Telephone Building’s façade its historic character.

Learn more about the restoration of the Telephone Building.

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See the magnificent transformation now underway