More old Manhattan phone exchanges
By wildnewyork
LE is easy enough to figure out without the sign explaining it.
This one is from a building on Union Square. But what’s the WY for? Of course, I love that the sign survives, but it’s a little puzzling why they haven’t updated the phone number.
Tags: Lexington Ave, Union Square
This entry was posted on May 11, 2008 at 6:16 am and is filed under Gramercy/Murray Hill, Random signage, Union Square. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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May 22, 2008 at 2:18 pm |
LE was also for Lehigh, my mother’s telephone was Lehigh4-xxxx. I remember PL4 (Plaza 4) and TR7 (Trafalgar7) from when I was little (and I’m not that old!)
June 12, 2008 at 10:44 am |
Is there a listing of old phone exchanges somewhere? i would love to look up my East Village neighborhood.
July 17, 2008 at 8:19 pm |
http://ourwebhome.com/TENP/TENproject.html
Here is a database of exchanges. The WY stands for 99- like on the keypad of your phone! The recommended phrases for WY or 99 were WYandotte, WYndown and WYman.
November 4, 2008 at 9:04 pm |
Here’s another.
WA 9 was my grandmother’s old telephone exchange in Chelsea. Stood for WAtkins.
March 4, 2009 at 9:14 pm |
WYandotte was what they used in NYC. Strange in Manhattan though. It was a Bronx exchange.
August 10, 2009 at 2:20 pm |
Hello,
I’m 55 y.o. and native– remember distrinctly that WY was also “WYoming” exchange in Manhattan.
Also, here are a few from I remember off the top that aren’t included. On a rainy day I might remember 99% of the rest– (all Manhattan)
AL = Algonquin CI 5= Circle CO = Columbus LO = Longacre