AT&T Huron Road Building, Cleveland

The AT&T Huron Road Building, originally known as the Ohio Bell Building, is an iconic Art Deco skyscraper located on Huron Road in downtown Cleveland. Designed by the Cleveland architectural firm Hubbell & Benes, this 24-story building rises to a height of 365 feet (111 meters) and was completed in 1927. Its architectural style, "Modern American Perpendicular Gothic," was influenced by Eliel Saarinen's unrealized design for the Tribune Tower in Chicago, giving it a distinctive profile on Cleveland’s skyline.

The Huron Road Building was constructed as the new headquarters for Ohio Bell, a regional telephone company owned by AT&T, following the relocation of its operations from Michigan Avenue due to the construction of the Terminal Tower complex. Work began in 1925 and was completed for $5 million, making it briefly the tallest building in Cleveland until it was surpassed by the Terminal Tower in 1928.

Since 1938, the building has been a telecommunications hub, handling 25,300 long-distance calls daily by 1944. Despite Ohio Bell relocating in 1964 and 1983, it remained a major switching station and later adapted to DSL services. It faced setbacks like the 1926 labor strike but was completed by court order. In 1949, a $6.5 million relay system connected Cleveland to cities like New York and Miami. By the late 1970s, the "Super Switcher" could route 550,000 calls per hour—tripling previous capacity.

Although rumors persist that the building inspired the design of the Daily Planet skyscraper from the Superman comics—because Superman’s creators, Jerry Siegel, and Joe Shuster, hailed from Cleveland—no concrete evidence supports this theory. Regardless, the AT&T Huron Road Building remains a beloved landmark in Cleveland, representing architectural grandeur and a rich history of telecommunications innovation.