AT&T Long Lines "Oak Hill" Tower, San Jose, CA, 2021.
All the pixels, none of the per-minute toll charges, at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattblaze/51261791084/
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this post was submitted on 25 Mar 2025
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Captured with the Rodenstock 50mm/4.0 HR Digaron-W lens (@ f/4.5) on a Cambo WRS-1600 camera (with about 15mm of vertical shift to preserve the geometry), the Phase One IQ4-150 back (@ ISO 50) in dual exposure mode (which preserves a couple stops of additional dynamic range into the shadows).
The tower's shape is irregular; it tapers slightly.
The wide angle and panoramic orientation give a bit of context, alone on a hill (which is being rapidly encroached by adjacent residential development).
For much of the 20th century, the backbone of the AT&T "Long Lines" long distance telephone network consisted primarily of terrestrial microwave links (rather than copper or fiber cables). Towers with distinctive KS-15676 "horn" antennas could be seen on hilltops and atop switching center buildings across the US; they were simply part of the American landscape.
Most of the relay towers were simple steel structures. This brutalist concrete platform in San Jose was, I believe, of a unique design.
@mattblaze@federate.social
This microwave tower is near me, and I've never known what it was for. Could it be part of that "long lines" network?
@marymessall@mendeddrum.org oh, very interesting design. I’ve not seen one like that before. Not clear if it was originally Long Lines; there aren’t any of the original horn antennas, so if it had been, all the old antennas have been removed.
@mattblaze@federate.social
Looks like it was! I found it on this map:
https://long-lines.com/map/original
See...
https://long-lines.com/viewsite/6234
@marymessall@mendeddrum.org Cool! Very unusual design; not seen anything like it.