First we go to Bath Beach. At 1707 Bath Ave is Sta-Brite Decorators. If you're looking to get your furniture re-upholstered, this is the place. If it was 1950, you'd have dialed the operator and asked for CLarkson 9-0868.
In nearby Dyker Heights, we find Terrace Meats, at 7317 13th Ave and 74th St. You would have reached your local butcher by dialing BE-2-2003. BE probably stood for Bensonhurst, but possibly Beachview.
Next up, Golden Gate Fancy Fruits and Vegetables, at ES-7-2581. This one-story produce mart is out on Flatbush, in an outer Brooklyn neighborhood called Flatlands.
Rounding out our survey of outer Brooklyn retro-gasm is the Avenue U Seafood Market, at DEcatur 2-6363. Built around 1930, maybe those were the days that you could actually eat the fish you caught off the Brooklyn piers?
79 comments:
New York was one of the last places to get rid of exchange names, maybe because we had the coolest ones. My first office job, in 1979, was at an ad agency that still used its PL(aza) number. To find out more about exchanges, check out the Telephone Exhange Name Project at http://ourwebhome.com/TENP/TENproject.html
My aunt and uncle's phone number at their house in Mahopac starts with MA8 and is listed that way on their phone list. I always think of it that way.
I grew up with a lettered phone number exchange and many are still listed that way in the local phone books. This was outside of Philadelphia, but I still love the old exchanges.
The CL exchange was actually Cloverdale
What fun! I lived in Brooklyn in the 50s and 60s.
CL = Cloverdale
ES = Esplanade
DE = Dewey
SP = Spruce
I think there was a BR = Brighton and CI = Coney Island, but I;m not 100% sure...
I lived in Williamsburg in New York during the 1960's. Our telephone exchange was EV for Evergreen.
COney Island 6
HIckory 9
It was rather interesting for me to read this post. Thank you for it. I like such themes and anything connected to them. I definitely want to read more soon.
Alex
Cell jammers
Terrace Meats was my Dad's store and I always will remember
BE(Bensonhurst)2-2003
My number was Navarre 8-7223
tatcemso wasMy wifes number was Sterling...and bed
The DI exchange in East New York (Snyder around the east 50s streets was for Dickens. My Grandparents lived at East 55th and Snyder Ave their number began with DI-2-
At Bedford and Kings Highway the exchange was NAvarre 8.
CLoverdale exchange at Flatbush Ave at Avenue "I" started CL 2.
I grew up in Park Slope, and our exchange was ST which stood for STERLING. My friend's exchange was UL which stood for ULSTER. I also recall NE which stood for NEVINS. Thanks for this blast from the past!
I grew up in East Flatbush. Our exchange was INgersoll 7. The phone number IN 7 5544. I wonder who has that number now?
Raymond Ingersoll (1875–1940) was borough president of Brooklyn from 1934 to 1940. Ingersoll Hall, one of the first buildings on the Brooklyn College campus, was named for him.
Does anyone know what MA stood for? I found a taxi card that my dad had in his belongings from 1959. Day and Night Service Star Private Taxi MA 4-9867 UL 8-7551
349 Brunt St. Brooklyn 31, N.Y.
Thanks,
GP
ma rble..... ul ster
http://phone.net46.net/nyc/latealpha.html
BU - BUckminster
Hi, I grew up in Canarsie Brooklyn! I remember CL for Cloverdale & HI for Hickory. Anyone know what "RN" was for?
RN stood for nothing at all. When Ma Bell ran out of legitimate easily spelled names to use, they started using arbitrary two-letter codes before going to all-digit dialing. So 763 was RN3, 487 was HT7 and, one of the first was in the Bronx - 994 was XX4. Non-dialable billing numbers for TWX and pre-cell mobile radio telephones had numbers beginning with letter codes such as YK and YL (both 95). Due to the impossibility of finding spellable names, prefixes such as 95X, 97X and possibly 57X were unused. Ma Bell did not approve of using KR for 57.
One friend lived in Crown Heights and her number started with PR for President, and another friend lived in East New York and her number started with TA for Tapscott. Fun remembering!
BE 2 and 8 were BEachview. BE 6 was BEnsonhurst. The TA exchange in East New York was TAylor, not Tapscott. BR was Browning, not Brighton.
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My family had a CLoverdale exchange before we were changed to RN3. I remember having a NIghtgale exchange when we lived near Marine Park.
What did the letters GL stand for. This was Bleecker Street in Bushwick section.
I lived in Sheepshead Bay Brooklyn, our number started with TWinning.
i grew up on union street in park slope 1960s phone was MAin; downtown was ULster PLaza SOuth; also in Flatbush was BUckingham NOstrand MIdwood DEwey NIghtingale in BAy Ridge;GEdney my favorite weird Manhattan one was UPlander...
grew up in Park Slope 60s-70s. we were MAin but nearby/downtown were PLaza SOuth ULster in BAy Ridge, Flatbush had BUckminster DEwey NIghtengale MIdwood NOstrand GEdney. favorite odd Manhattan one was RHinelander.
Although we live 3 blocks from Buckingham Road (it’s only on block long) I was always told the number on my dads business card was BUckminster4. This is in what we called Flatbush, more specifically Beverley Square west. Its been newly rebranded as “Ditmas Park”
My aunt and uncle had TWining (I only recall one “n”) in Rego Park, Queens
We lived on East 26th St. in Flatbush. Our number was BUckminster 4-8064.
I lived in east flatbush off foster and kings hwy and had a GL1 number. It was Glenmore 1
I lived in east flatbush off foster and kings hwy and had a GL1 number. It was Glenmore 1
GLenmore was for Bushwick around Hancock St and Evergreen Ave
Family on E 22nd, X and W, began RO9; other side was on Burnett off of Marine Park, SH3
On my block in the Marine Park neighborhood there were two prefixes: NIghtingale and SHeepshead
My dad had a gas station for a while on E Houston St and Elizabeth Street (a stone's throw away from Gotti's HQ) and the number began with CAnal 2. Our Gravesend area in Brooklyn had NIghtingale 2 and SHeepshead 3
There was Applegate 7 in east New York and somewhere I remember Midwood .. maybe in the prospect park south association north of ditmas park.
The MI exchanges in Brooklyn were MIchigan 2&7 in the Liberty Avenue Central Office, along with APplegate 7, AXtel 6 and TAylor 7.
My grandmother lived in Woodhaven, Queens and had an MI2 number. Interesting that the exchanges were not delineated by borough lines...
Lived in Brooklyn in 1940s o Bristol St. between Pitkin and ENY Ave.-
Went to PS-175, JHS 66 -
Thos.Jefferson HS & graduated from Rutgers U. in New Jersey.
First phone we had in the 1940s was - DIckens - 51674.
Pitkin Ave. was great as was the Kishka King
Great Egg Creams - Charlotte Rouse - Italian Ices
Swimming at Betsy Head Park for a nickel & Coney Island
My telephone still has a Bell Telephone insert in the dial(yes, it's a rotary phone) which reads BU4. This stood for BUckminster It was used in Brooklyn and used the numbers 2, 4, or 7. In Manhattan the exchange BU stood for BUtterfield and used the numbers 3, 5. or 8(hence the Elizabeth Taylor movie title 'BUtterfield 8'). There are maps available indicating which area switchboard used which exchange. MA in Manhattan was actually used for MAdison Square(prior to there being a Madison Square Garden) and covered the area of Midtown Manhattan - West Side.
I have maps of every telephone boundary in the City of New York. The only MA exchanges are MAin 2,4,5 in Brooklyn. MAin 2 in Clinton Avenue CO. MAin 4&5 at Bridge Street CO. BUckminster 2,4,7 are in the Albemarle Road CO in Flatbush.
The only BU 8 was BUtterfield on the Upper East Side. Your BU 3 was AUdubon 3 in the Convent Avenue CO. BU 5 did not exist.
If you're are interested in locations of other exchanges, I'll be glad to look them up.
Anyone know what GE stood for? We live between Sunset Park & Bay Ridge
I came across this post after finding a Brooklyn phone book from 1950 which had my mother's home phone number when they lived in Bed-Sty. I was confused by the numbering system, so this post is helpful. The exchange names are written in the phone book, so here are some of them:
- GEdny
- NEvins
- BUckmnstr
- CLoverdl
- ESpinad
- SLocum
- DEwy
- MAin
- BEachvw
- GLenmr
- APigate
- NIghtngl
- SOuth
- PResdnt
- TErace
- SHeepshd
- SHorRd
- HYcnth
- TRiangl
DI please
DI please
DI please
DIckens 2, 5, and 6 were in Brooklyn's Rockaway Avenue Central Office.
It's sad we don't use neighborhood butchers anymore..,
GE Central Offices
GEdney 4 - 1421 Ocean Avenue
GEdney 5,6,8, - 4101 14th Avenue
GEdney 9 - 7701 Third Avenue
I’m so happy to see your comment ! I am the only one of my siblings who remember our number starting with “Esplanade”
I'd be glad to send a list of all exchanges in Brooklyn.
Send me an email ... Metropolitan99@msn.com
That is correct. I had my number for many years CL6 5109 lol
CLoverdale 6 is in the 16th Avenue Central Office with BEachview 2, BEnsonhurst 6, CLoverdale 9, DEwey 1,and TErrace 7.
Where was the buckminster exchange located?
BUckminster 2,4 & 7 are in the Albemarle Road Central Office near Flatbush Avenue, along with INgersoll 2&9, ULster 6 and new All-Number exchanges.
awesome site everyone, Yes, i was searching about any info about this, born few blocks between L&B and Lafayette HS then moved to Cropsey Ave across Mippies Gas station then to Gravesend by McDonald Ave off Ave W learning my number was NI 5, great memory here
thanks
My grandparents and parents phone numbers in Forest Hills started with an IL exchange which stood for Illinois
Along with ILlinois 9, the Forest Hills Queens Boulevard exchange has BOulevard 1,3,& 8, BRowning 5, LIggett 4 and TWining 6&7.
ILLinois 7&8 serve Jackson Heights and Elmhurst from exchange on Broadway.
Thanks for the website!
This worked better-- http://tenproject.cloudapp.net/tensearch.aspx
GE was GEdney, as I recall. I lived on 12th Ave in Borough Park.
These were great to read and visualize the various areas in Brooklyn with the phone exchanges. I lived on Ocean Ave between H and I with CL8-2633. A family member worked at the Brooklyn Army Terminal with the number ST8-9000 (Sterling).
I ALSO GREW UP IN CANARSIE , BROOKLYN. BORN IN 1943 A TROLLY CAR RODE PAST MY HOME ON ROCKAWAY PARKWAY. IT TOOK YOU STRAIGHT TO THE CANARSIE TRAIN STATION.
THE CANARSIE SHORE WAS A PLACE MY FRIENDS WOULD GO.TO SUNBATHE!THE SHORE WATER WAS MERKY & CERTAINLY NOT SWIMABLE!
We had BU and lived near Nostrand and Cortelyou.
Along with BUckminster 2,4 & 7, the office on Albemarle Road near Flatbush served INgersoll 2 & 9 and ULster 6.
These Brooklyn exchanges should bring back memories -
APplegate, BEachview, BEnsonhurst, BRowning, BUckminster, CLoverdale, COney Island, DEwey, DIckens, ESplanade, EXchange, EVergreen, GEdney, GLenmore, HEgeman, HIckory, HYacinth, INgersoll, JAckson, MAin, NAvarre, NEvins, NIghtingale, PResident, SHeepshead, SHore Road, SLocum, SOuth, STerling, TAylor, TErrace, TRiangle, ULster and WIndsor.
The list rotates, rings a constant bell, and reminds me so much of my youth in Flatbush.
My great grandfather’s number was SH3 I assumed was sheepshead bay, my grandparent in Madison or whatever they call it now was ES7. I’ve seen a couple of different ideas what this stands for. I still have the old phone with the number printed on it 😊
Your are correct, SHeepshead 3. ESplanade 2,3,5,6,& 7 served the borough.
Do you know what RN stands for?
Between Exchange Names and All-Number Calling, "Selected Letter" exchanges with no meaning were created. Another was XX in the Bronx.
Just imagine how futuristic The Bronx was having a double Twitter exchange of XX.
Lydia - need help !! I’m so glad I found this blog! My girlfriend and her mother have a running argument over the prefix of the phone number of their grandmother’s house. One says it’s DEWEY, the other says it’s NAVARRE. The address of the house is 1145 East 43rd St, in Brooklyn, Kings County. The person’s name was Benjamin Nechamkus. Can you solve this mystery!!😄
Dear Telefan - yes please! The address is 1145 East 43rd St. Was it Dewey or Navarre??? This will solve a long running debate in the house. 😂
NAvarre 9 subscribers were moved to DEwey 8. Don't know the date.
I lived at 1400 Ocean Avenue, Phone: NAvarre 8-9234
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