Everything about Past totally explained
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 fight 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 to expand the Warsaw telephone network. For that purpose, two buildings were built at Zielna street in downtown Warsaw, holding the telephone exchange and the company's headquarters. The building, located at 37
Zielna Street, 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 1907-1910. The building was one of the first
reinforced concrete constructions of this magnitude in Europe.
The Cedergren license 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, or, colloquially,
Pasta . 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 a simplified architectural form after
World War II. The company wasn't recreated after the war and its assets were nationalized by the Polish communist authorities.
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