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One aspect of NYC history that I always adore is when old establishments have had the same phone number for like 100 years. As this one does.

Josh Chafetz@joshchafetz.bsky.social

Happy. Place.

202 reposts2K likes

I moved to NYC in the early 2000s. I remember the angst, bc I also personally suffered, when they had to add new areas codes. Sharing your phone number became (yet another) snobby comparison/competition btw the Have's (i.e. "real" locals, NYCers with 212 or 917) vs the Not's (347 and 645).

My mother had her phone number for 64 years-1955 to 2019. Originally it was a name (Greenleaf) then shortened to the first two letters (GR) followed by 5 numbers and finally the area code plus 7 numbers. She lost the number when we moved her out of the area code.

(212) PEnsylvania 6-5000 was written by & made famous by Glenn Miller Band using the song to tell beautiful women in the New York City region where the band’s after party was. The Pennsylvania Hotel was across the street from NY Penn Station so easiest to get bad & instruments into that hotel.

Given how the band had many members, & how heavy their instruments were, especially in full cases, the walking distance hotel was vital. Today @amtrak.com has removed baggage cars from Amtrak state funded trains, such as from Amtrak Vermonter, so there are no baggage cars on northeast of NYC.

One of my kids had no idea that the letters on old rotary phones were for using the MayFair4-9999 to call someone. They thought it was an early texting feature. God I feel old. Trying to explain party-lines to this generation is hilarious

My late mom had the same number from around 1970ish to a few years ago. I was SO MAD that I -- lifelong Brooklynite -- couldn't get a 718 cell phone number in 2001 (I've had the same 347 ever since), yet people who'd only lived in NYC for a few years had them.

I remember the rage and tears(!) from some people when NYC rolled out 347 and you couldn't get 917 as a cell phone number any longer. 917 defined some people as "locals" and they couldn't let it go. I was a transplant but must admit I didn't like having 347 so I switched to 646 after a year 😂

The development of my parents' landline number in Voss, Norway (the first two were actually my grandparents'): 32 132 17132 515132 56515132 Today, they've abandoned the landlines for mobiles

My home phone number must be over 40 at this point, been thinking of cancelling it since we only get scams calling on the land-line anymore