PAST
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
PAST (short for Polska Akcyjna Spółka Telefoniczna, Polish Telephone Joint-stock Company) was a Polish telephone operator in the period between World War I and World War II. It is notable for its' main headquarters in Warsaw, which at the time of its construction was the first and tallest skyscraper in the Russian Empire and the tallest building of Warsaw. The fights for the building during the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 also added to the legend of the place.
The Swedish-owned company Towarzystwo Akcyjne Telefonów "Cedergren" won a competition in 1900 and was ordered to expand Warsaw's telephone network. For that purpose, two buildings were built at Zielna street in donwtown Warsaw, both of them holding the telephone hubs and the company's headquarters. The building, located at the street address Zielna 37, was built between 1904 and 1910 and was constructed in two phases. The lower part, designed by L. Wahiman, I.G. Ciason and B. Brochowicz-Rogoyski, was completed in 1904-1905; the upper part was added in the years 1907-1910. The building was one of the first reinforced concrete constructions of this magnitude in Europe.
The license for Cedergren expired in 1922 and the building was consequently taken over by the PAST company. This is why it was referred to by Varsovians either by the name of Cedergren or PAST. The company also won several competitions for running the telephone network in other towns of Poland, among them Białystok. During the German occupation of Poland, it was the regional telephone center for General Government. During the Warsaw Uprising, on August 20, 1944, the building was captured by Polish insurgents of AK battalion „Kiliński” after 20 days of bloody fighting. The building was severely damaged. It was rebuilt in simplified architectural form after World War II. The company was not recreated after the war and its assets were nationalized by the new communist authorities of Poland.
