Comments on: Retrospective: Building AT&T Headquarters Basking Ridge

By: Russ Nixon

Russ Nixon — Sun, 21 Jun 2026 19:33:26 +0000

I worked for AT&T IMS from ’88 to ’92 on the first floor of building 7. Our organization was responsible for all of the telephone, networking plant and computer support at the site and dozens of Unix servers. My desk was right outside of the telephone equipment room. As a result of my work, I had been in just about every space in the building except the kitchen and some maintenance spaces.
If anyone I worked with reads this (you know who you are), AT&T people were some of the best coworkers I ever had in four decades plus IT career.

By: Regina Rolwood

Regina Rolwood — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 14:16:59 +0000

We lived across the street at 262 No Maple (we lived in a converted barn that was part of the Dettweller Farm). When I started working at AT&T as a temp in 1983, I would walk to work. That was a long driveway to walk along! I got a job with T right after divestiture and worked in that building until Aug ‘85 when I was promoted to management (I lasted 38 years until retiring in 2021!) and was transferred to Somerset. The building had 7 individual buildings and it was quite confusing with the room numbering conventions. Walking from bldg 1 to bldg 7 was a hike! Before divestiture, there were 2 TVs near the cafeteria where we watched soap operas at lunch. Those were removed on 1/1/84 and the environment changed with security guards and elevators that did not go to every floor of the enormous parking deck! We had 2 cafeterias, a gift store, credit union, barber shop, post office, etc. It was such a fun place to work! Someone mentioned Christmas! We had the best Christmas Eve celebrations there! I brought my Dad to work with me as well as my nieces. Santa was there and we all ate so well! Such great memories!

By: Alison Chester

Alison Chester — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 16:23:46 +0000

I remember hearing or reading after AT&T left the property that it was one of the places that the USSR had targeted with nukes in the event they decided to go after us. Grok (AI) denies that this is the case but hey, you never know. I drove past this complex every day on my way to work.

By: Harry Miller

Harry Miller — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 15:46:02 +0000

Back in the early 80s, there was an unemployed homeless guy actually living in the complex for several weeks. Some days he even attended large project meetings and took notes. He’d hit the conference rooms after hours looking for leftover danish. We sent him on his way with a warning, but he came back and we had to have him arrested.

By: Brian Brennan

Brian Brennan — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 03:54:40 +0000

What a blast from the past to discover this. In May June 1975 there abouts, I visited AT&T as a Telecom Engineer from Australia investigating digital technology developments. Not being a high ranking executive, I had to find my own way there from NYC. That was a task in itself, not being familiar with transport over there. I had to take the subway from NYC to Hoboken NJ. Then take a train on the Erie-Lackawana railway from Hoboken to East Orange and then a bus to Basking Ridge. Took a long time about 1.5 hours or more. The most memorable part of the journey was the the age and set up of the train carriages. They were like something out of the wild west. Seating was open weave and the carriages felt unstable and had a lot of lateral movement. It was quite a ride. I have fond memories of you yanks there and also in Boston.

By: Nancy Hunt Pasanen

Nancy Hunt Pasanen — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 23:50:06 +0000

I worked as a secretary at AT&T 295 in the early 1980s. That was a magical place. Such a beautiful complex surrounded by bucolic landscaping. It was a magnificent place, and I feel fortunate I had the opportunity to be part of it. The buildings had a Frank Lloyd Wright feeling to them. If I could go back in time, this is exactly where I would go.

By: Gualberto Malave

Gualberto Malave — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 05:19:30 +0000

I served my apprenticeship as a Carpenter for local #455 UBC. It was quite experience working with older Carpenters of the trade at that time, Briscoe construction was the contractor then. I was proud to this day to have worked on such beautiful structure as AT&T Basking Ridge, NJ.

By: Bruce Clark

Bruce Clark — Sun, 08 Dec 2024 16:59:51 +0000

Excellent article that brought back many memories.
I was part of the 1975 ‘Phase One’ group of employees that came in from AT&T’s official headquarters at 195 Broadway in lower Manhattan. If you periodically update the article, you might want to note in the ‘AT&T and the Suburbs’ section that just as the Basking Ridge complex was generally referred to as ‘295’, this convention followed the similar reference to the NYC HQ as ‘195’.
While the lobby waterfall clearly commanded the most attention, the escalators from the circular drop-off area and executive parking lot on the ground floor brought visitors up to a spacious lounge-like area with wrap-around cushioned seating and a broad assortment of different types of telephones located adjacent to the seating — all of which were ‘live’ and had dial tones when you picked them up. The Mickey Mouse phone always seemed to be a favorite with the kids when they came in with their parents for the Holiday festivities.
That small graphic on the left in the ‘1974 – Phase 1 Construction’ section of the article that depicts a (somewhat inaccurate) painting of the complex is actually the cover of a promotional handout that was distributed to the local residents to promote AT&T as a good neighbor. I have a copy of the pamphlet and can scan it for you — just let me know.

By: Glenn Pannell

Glenn Pannell — Sun, 04 Aug 2024 01:05:08 +0000

I worked at the At&T facility in 1978 as security with Wells Fargo. The place was massive. There were what seemed like millions of offices. I remember how challenging it was to not get lost at night with minimal lighting. I also recall the lighting was used to help heat the building.

By: Nick Dworski

Nick Dworski — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 03:59:31 +0000

My sister was one of the first employees to transfer from 195 Broadway in New York City to 295 North Maple when the Basking Ridge building first opened. I remember only a portion of the building being finished at the time. One whole section of the building was just open space with construction materials all over the place.

Also, the Parker House remained in use on the property. It was used as the office for the executive chauffeurs.

By: Marianne Mathewson

Marianne Mathewson — Thu, 28 Mar 2024 20:12:10 +0000

I always considered myself so fortunate to have had the opportunity to have worked at 295. It was a blessing to be apart of the executive staff at a special time.

By: Maria Michaels

Maria Michaels — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 21:13:17 +0000

I started with AT&T in 1978 in Bedminster, NJ. I ended up at the Ridge from 1982 thru 1987 working in HR Data Systems and Workers Comp and then ttransferred to Charlotte, NC. I loved working at the Ridge. They would also have vendors coming in weekly to sell their wares.

By: Theresa

Theresa — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 19:44:45 +0000

I worked for AT&T at 295 N. Maple Ave from 1987-1997. We called it “Shangrila.” I began my career as an Executive Secretary and had the privilege of ascending the brass staircase to C-Suite on many occasions. These leaders were viewed as almost god-like. Golden Boy shined his luster upon the main lobby, which was carpeted in an opulent purple with gold lines. Each building was about 1/4 mile, and you had to plan walking time to get to meetings on time. I roamed the halls quite often and knew many of the 5K+ people in the building. It was a great time to work in corporate America. When you left work at the end of the day, the cell circuits were jammed all along Interstate 295 because almost everyone who worked there had a cell phone.

By: Lorie Williams

Lorie Williams — Tue, 23 Jan 2024 19:26:16 +0000

I loved working in the international legal department with James Talbot, and I remember Mike Berg as well as some of the other great people who were there too. Before that working at Bell Labs. What I missed was the feeling that we took care of each other. My father, my grandfather, and I worked in different parts of the bells. Never together or even in the same bell. But you had a sense of history. We were all very proud of our contribution and sad to see it go.

By: Bob Kelly

Bob Kelly — Sat, 08 Jul 2023 18:00:43 +0000

In November of 1981, I became one of the bevy of outside hires made by AT&T’s newly formed international business as the company prepared to once again do business outside the United States after decades of not having to compete for business. It wasn’t long before the new company had already outgrown its Morristown office and we moved into two brand new buildings in Basking Ridge that were right around the corner from AT&T’s “headquarters” complex at 295 North Maple Avenue. In December of 1982, a few of my co-workers (all formerly Western Electric) invited me to join them on a short trip over to the 295 “cafeteria” for lunch. Having come from the somewhat modest office environs of Johnson & Johnson, it was quite an experience observing all of the architectural magnificence while driving through the beautifully landscaped grounds, parking underground, and after a ride on the longest escalator I’d ever seen, coming into the largest open office space I had ever seen, completely covered in luxuriously thick, purple wall-to wall-carpet! The hushed tones of walking across that carpet towards our destination in such a huge open space was for me a bit surreal. But then the question arose – “shall we dine upstairs or down”? Deciding down, we began to descend this incredibly wide spiral stairway half the width of which on both sides was covered in a sea of red poinsettias! Ending, of course, in front of the largest fireplace I had ever seen complete with blazing logs that had to be five or six feet long! (The lunch did not disappoint – certainly not I would call cafeteria food.) I’ve related this experience many times over the years and hardly anyone believes me when I tell it. I’ve lived 2,000 miles away for the past twenty-five years (Lucent retiree, 2001) and have no idea what or who occupies it today, but it would seem worthy of nothing less than the New Jersey state capital complex. Wonder what NYC and Philly would think of that!