Nation At Your Fingertips

Bell System film about the first direct distance dialing from Englewood, New Jersey in 1951.

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Howto & Style

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• Telephone

[vintageappliguy]

@OldsVistaCruiser IThanks for the info I am a swing music fan myself I was aware of Pennslyvania6 5000...I did not realize the hotel still had the # though

[OldsVistaCruiser]

@vintageappliguy - PE6 also had a very special significance in American music history. Glenn Miller made a big hit out of PEnnsylvania 6-5000, which was (and is) the phone number for the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York City. The hotel is proud of the fact that they have had the number since 1919, when it was PENnsylvania 5000 (the third letter was made the corresponding 6 later), and it may be the longest-continuously-held number in history. In today's format, their number is 212-736-5000.

[OldsVistaCruiser]

@rxblair - Also, Oakland is no longer served by the 415 area code. The 415 was split several times, including the 707 in northwest CA, which was done in 1959. Oakland is served today by the 510 area code, which was introduced in 1991.

What's so coincidental is that Philadelphia, which has had 215 since the beginning, had its original area code split to 610, which handles the western and far northern suburbs, and west of there is the 717 area code!

[Alprazolam]

@jamie1707 very true...the reason they replaced the boys with women operators was because the teenage boy operators were rude and would use foul language with people. if people got short with the boy operators they would mess with their calls...but ma bell did push around women and gave them "greenies" when they got out of line the greenies had valium in them...so if you had a bad day at work they drugged you...oh the totalitarian bell system

[Spock1971]

@imajika2 The "electrons floating through spaaaaace!" referred to microwave radio ("R-Carrier" Systems) that A.T.&T. used back then for long-haul toll. Actually, the A.T.&T. division was called "A.T.&T. LongLines" that was in charge of microwave systems for long-haul toll. These systems in the beginning actually used single-side band (SSB) like ham operators use on HF frequencies now. These systems were "multiplexed" to form many channels, broken down by Supergroup, Jumbogroups, etc.

[James1toknow]

Punishment for this video is Englewood gets cell phone technology last in the nation! and fiber rings 5 years later!

at 10:14 I see BORG,,,, you will be assimilated!

If that isn't work pace torture what is!

[James1toknow]

She has something going on with the Mail man!! you know it!

The letter is a diversion!,,, she is really calling the mail man on his Cell phone!

[Teflon65]

The lettered, or abbreviated, exchanges were phased out in the 1970s, but for a long time, the first two numerals of your telephone number still indicated what part of town you lived in. Then, Ma Bell created an exchange that did not indicate what part of town you lived in, and if your phone number began with those two numerals, which were different in every community, you could move across town, and keep your old phone number.

[v1fly1]

1951... That was an $80 phone call....

[traffety]

remember when america was like this? heheh