This first one was spotted on a building off Lafayette Street near Bond Street.
Strangely, it has the EM for Empire that indicated a Brooklyn or Queens phone number.
I guess the alarm company was located in one of these boroughs (kind of scary if you were stuck in the elevator, having to wait for someone to come rescue you from across the East River).
The Little Wolf Cabinet shop, launched in 1956, is still located in the East 80s, one of the last of German Yorkville’s old-school businesses.
RE is for Rector or Regent.
Tags: businesses of German Yorkville, EM phone exchange, Little Wolf Cabinet Shop, old New York phone exchanges, RE phone exchange, two-letter phone exchanges, vintage phone exchanges
Ephemeral New York 
June 9, 2011 at 3:54 am |
(718)EMpire 1-7200 is a number that connects you to Curtis Elevator on 36th Street in Long Island City. Little Wolf’s is (212)REgent 4-1116.
The old REctor exchange was REctor 2.
I can get a laugh out of old-time locals by giving my home number as “YEllowstone 2-….” instead of “932-….”. It is another ancient Long Island City exchange.
Here find a set of pages that must have involved a lot of work.
June 9, 2011 at 9:28 pm |
our first phone number was RE7-5978. amazing that i still remember it.
June 9, 2011 at 10:13 pm |
I can easily remember my phone number as a small kid: 254-8359. But I have a very hard time remembering anyone’s number (or birthday, or any numerical info of any kind) now.
June 10, 2011 at 2:41 pm |
Great German Yorkville Photo Album! Enjoy!
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.120811034670200.31664.100002239131479&l=1c722cdb76
June 10, 2011 at 5:39 pm |
Hey, these are so cool! Love the meat in the meat markets. Thanks for sending!
December 23, 2011 at 2:16 am |
i found an old piece of artwork, it looks like it was originally a Cross @ Dimmitt Postcard, that someone painted. The sticker on the back is partly gone, the onkly thing I can read is (?) Artistic Pictures Regent 4 (?) 1062 Third Ave. Bet 62nd & 63rd St. New York. If anyone knows anything about the studio, or frame shop or artist, or that address that would be great.
thanks, ann
September 3, 2015 at 5:54 am |
[…] exchange spotting is always fun, and there’s plenty of signs and ads still left in the city that have them. Just keep your eyes […]