The company built this building to house the telephone exchange and associated infrastructure when it upgraded service to the Norwich area in 1906-07.

The ground floor housed a lounge area for company employees, and a terminal room in which wires entered the building for distribution either to the switchboard or batteries.

It remained in service until 1948, when the company moved the exchange to larger quarters on Chestnut Street.

The building was acquired by the city, which converted it into a police station, with jail cells in the basement and offices on the main and upper levels.

[2] The architect of the building was Leoni W. Robinson of New Haven, and the contractor was C. Morgan Williams of Norwich.