 
Rb336
Member
Username: Rb336
Post Number: 6964
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 10:49 am: |    |
inspired by the "ghost signs"
was there ever any rhyme or reason to them?
I know MAyfair was bloomfield township, no idea why
Tyler? don't know where that was except in those commercials for whatever that const. company was |
Jcole
Member
Username: Jcole
Post Number: 2539
Registered: 04-2005
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 10:53 am: | |
Ours was LAkeview, but we lived nowhere near the lake, so Unless it spread to Grosse Pointe, I have no idea why we had it |
Detroitnerd
Member
Username: Detroitnerd
Post Number: 2703
Registered: 07-2004
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 10:54 am: | |
There are still many downtown phone numbers with the exchange for WOodward. A bit north of there, you get TEmple.
As a kid in Dearborn, mine was LUzon. |
Richard_bak
Member
Username: Richard_bak
Post Number: 80
Registered: 04-2008
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 10:55 am: | |
Curiously (considering the ghost signs thread), our exchange in west Detroit was WEbster. Not named for the cigars, I'm sure. |
Townonenorth
Member
Username: Townonenorth
Post Number: 60
Registered: 10-2007
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 10:59 am: | |
MikeM listed these in the HOF thread about the 6 digit phone numbers.
2L exchange
ARlington 27-
CAdillac 22-
CEdar 23-
CHerry 24-
CLifford 25-
DRexel 37-
ELmhurst 35-
FItzroy 34-
GArfield 42-
HOgarth 46-
IVanhoe 48-
LAfayette 52-
LEnox 53-
MAdison 62-
MElrose 63-
MUrray 68-
NIagara 64-
NOrthlawn 66-
OLive 65-
ORegon 67-
PIngree 74-
PLaza 75-
PRospect 77-
RAndolph 72-
REdford 73-
And these exchanges which had 7-digit phone numbers (2L-5N) creating the following prefixes:
2L exchanges
TEmple 831-,2-
TEnnyson 836-
TErrace 832-
TOwnsend 866-,8-,9-
TRinity 871-,2-
TUxedo 881-
TWinbrook 891-,2-
TYler 894-,5-,6-,7-
UNiversity 862-,3-,4-
VErmont 835-,6-,7-
VInewood 841-,2-
The Hogarth, Lenox, Madison, Niagara, Pingree, Plaza, Redford, Twinbrook, Tyler, University, Vermont, and Vinewood names are still informally used for the offices that host those exchanges |
Pgn421
Member
Username: Pgn421
Post Number: 710
Registered: 02-2005
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 11:05 am: | |
ours was TUXedo, on the eastside |
Eastenglishvillage
Member
Username: Eastenglishvillage
Post Number: 3
Registered: 05-2008
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 11:09 am: | |
My mother remembers that ours was LIncoln - 543
Royal Oak |
Slick
Member
Username: Slick
Post Number: 18
Registered: 02-2008
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 11:11 am: | |
WAlnut was the poletown area, eastside. |
Detroitnerd
Member
Username: Detroitnerd
Post Number: 2704
Registered: 07-2004
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 11:20 am: | |
Hamtramck was so often 365 or other 36-combinations. Any idea what that might have been? |
Funaho
Member
Username: Funaho
Post Number: 62
Registered: 11-2007
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 11:21 am: | |
That's pretty neat. My phone service comes from the Vinewood CO (DTRTMIVWDS0, if you're into that sort of thing.) and my number is an 842 number. Now I know why. 
Does anyone know what 554 or 237 used to be? 554 is my great aunt's exchange; same CO but she's had her phone far, far longer than me. 237 was the exchange at my grandfather's service station at W. Vernor & I-75. |
9936sussex
Member
Username: 9936sussex
Post Number: 155
Registered: 10-2007
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 11:38 am: | |
Ours was VErmont--west side of Detroit (Plymouth/Greenfield area) |
Eriedearie
Member
Username: Eriedearie
Post Number: 2363
Registered: 08-2007
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 11:44 am: | |
Slick - mine was WAlnut. Our little street was bordered by major thoroughfares Van Dyke, Harper, Gratiot and Grinnell streets. |
Downriviera
Member
Username: Downriviera
Post Number: 817
Registered: 02-2008
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 11:45 am: | |
Had WArwick here downriver. |
Sarge
Member
Username: Sarge
Post Number: 974
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 12:33 pm: | |
Oak Park (or at least parts of it) was Lincoln as well - 54
Lincoln 1-5465
Phone number for the former George E. Young Nursery on 9 mile and Scotia in Oak Park. |
Oldredfordette
Member
Username: Oldredfordette
Post Number: 5049
Registered: 02-2004
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 12:36 pm: | |
KEnwood |
Homer
Member
Username: Homer
Post Number: 306
Registered: 08-2004
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 1:01 pm: | |
TAshmoo here in SW Detroit. Named after the SS Tashmoo cruise ship that traveled between Detroit and Port Huron. |
Lpg
Member
Username: Lpg
Post Number: 35
Registered: 02-2008
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 1:01 pm: | |
We had ATlantic and 4 digits in the 40's. Then changed to DUnkirk and 5 digits. This was in Lincoln Park. |
Philm
Member
Username: Philm
Post Number: 48
Registered: 03-2005
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 1:03 pm: | |
DIamond 34
Puritan and Wyoming
Funny thing. I'm in my late fifties and can remember both of the DIamond numbers that we had. The first was changed because it was too close to that of some business and we were always getting their calls. |
Maof2
Member
Username: Maof2
Post Number: 74
Registered: 06-2008
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 1:05 pm: | |
TU4-XXXX was our number and my mother had the same number for 53 years until she passed away in 2002. Actually, I tried to get the number at that time (for sentimental sake) but "no can do"
We lived in the Mack and Alter area |
Ray1936
Member
Username: Ray1936
Post Number: 3414
Registered: 01-2005
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 1:15 pm: | |
I remember when our phone number was changed from six digit to seven back about 1950. The old number was DAvison 2539, and overnight it became WEbster 4-2539. Wasn't too hard to remember the new digits. Home was in the Meyers-Schoolcraft area. |
Fredgarvin
Member
Username: Fredgarvin
Post Number: 79
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 1:28 pm: | |
Hey 9936, my grandparents were VErmont too, at Plymouth and Abington (near Southfield Exwy). |
Professorscott
Member
Username: Professorscott
Post Number: 1457
Registered: 12-2006
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 1:47 pm: | |
The UNiversity exchange in NW D was in honor of U of D, whose phone number for a great many yeas was UN2-1000. In the late 70s they went to a Centrex where each phone had a direct inward dialed number, and there wasn't a block of 86X numbers to be had, so it was changed to 927-XXXX, and the "92" wasn't represented by two letters because Ma Bell wasn't doing that anymore.
Of course, everybody who was here at the time remembers the jeweler Charles Kent Reaver, with the syrupy voice telling us to "just dial diamond, DIA-MOND", a number in northwest Detroit, and as already mentioned, "DIamond" was the actual name of the exchange.
In Schenectady, Noo Yawk, whence the Prof hails, we had "ERie" in honor of the canal and "EDison" in honor of the inventor. Prof's mom still has her ERie 1-XXXX number from way back. Generous Electric in Schenectady had the rare honor of having a designer ZIP code, 12345. (Name the only designer area code and win a prize.) |
Detroitnerd
Member
Username: Detroitnerd
Post Number: 2709
Registered: 07-2004
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 1:50 pm: | |
DEE-EYE-AYY-EM-OH-EN-DEE! |
Professorscott
Member
Username: Professorscott
Post Number: 1459
Registered: 12-2006
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 1:54 pm: | |
...and the last "Deee" trailed off for quite a good bit of time.
Mrs. Prof's wedding ring is from Reaver, incidentally. He gave us a gift certificate to the Golden Mushroom as a reward for plunking down a good deal of cash for the ring. Mr. and Mrs. Prof didn't realize that $25 did not stretch very far at the 'shroom. |
Detroitnerd
Member
Username: Detroitnerd
Post Number: 2710
Registered: 07-2004
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 2:04 pm: | |
Actually, I don't remember Reaver's voice as syrupy. I remember it as kinda creepy. Like his voice whispering D-I-A-M-O-N-D would be the last thing you'd hear before his cleaver would fall. |
Detroitplanner
Member
Username: Detroitplanner
Post Number: 1736
Registered: 04-2006
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 2:09 pm: | |
I have a LUzon exchange. |
Detroitnerd
Member
Username: Detroitnerd
Post Number: 2711
Registered: 07-2004
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 2:13 pm: | |
Really, DP? I had a LUzon number when I lived a few blocks away from Ford Woods Park and Maples Elementary, to give you a general idea of where I lived. |
Buyamerican
Member
Username: Buyamerican
Post Number: 640
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 3:27 pm: | |
VAlley 4-xxxx was mine from the early 50's until the 70's. Vernor, Kercheval, Montclair, St. Jean area. |
Grumpyoldlady
Member
Username: Grumpyoldlady
Post Number: 172
Registered: 06-2005
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 3:47 pm: | |
I worked for MA Bell back in the days of lettered exchanges...I worked in the Trinity office on East Bethune and later in the Walnut office on Kelly Road in Harper Woods. As a service order typist, I once typed an exchange as TY instead of TR, and the order proofreader didn't catch it. It was an "out" order to disconnect phone service, but my typo cause a big business to lose it's main phone line for a few hours. Believe me, the proofreader and I both heard about it! |
Ray1936
Member
Username: Ray1936
Post Number: 3416
Registered: 01-2005
| | Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 - 4:23 pm: | |
Back in the "old" days, there was no 911 emergency phone number. If you wanted the DPD, you dialed WO 2-5700, and if you wanted the DFD, it was WO 2-0400. On a rotary dial phone, that took time. On the other hand, if it was a real emergency and you dialed "O", chances are the operator would dial the connect for you. |