Spotted on an unremarkable building on West 47th Street in the Diamond District: an old-school New York City phone exchange, in this case “MU.”
What does it stand for? Murray Hill, of course, the neighborhood where the real estate company that put up this plaque is based.
It’s getting harder to find these two-letter exchanges, which were replaced by numerals in the early 1960s. But they’re out there—especially in the boroughs outside Manhattan.
Tags: MU phone exchange, Murray Hill Phone Exchange, NYC phone exchanges, NYC two-letter phone exchanges, Old NYC Phone Exchanges, old two-letter phone numbers, phone numbers with letters
Ephemeral New York 
March 8, 2021 at 5:01 am |
Not just a geographical indicator but social ones as well.
March 8, 2021 at 6:35 am |
what a great profile photo.. so cute.. a morning smile.
March 8, 2021 at 12:30 pm
Perfect for a bookseller, yes?
March 8, 2021 at 6:34 am |
It made it so much easier to remember numbers..sigh. I actually remember when we had phone numbers like that. I always enjoy your posts.. thank YOU
March 8, 2021 at 7:21 pm |
Thank you! I don’t remember when these were in use, but I wish they kept them as well…they’re less anonymous than 7 meaningless digits.
March 8, 2021 at 6:35 am |
TW is Twining an old Jackson Heights echange
March 8, 2021 at 6:44 am |
BUtterfield 8 being the classic…
March 8, 2021 at 6:59 am |
We had an “OL” (Olinville) number when I grew up in The Bronx. I recall TU (Tulip) and KI (Kingsbridge) and TR (Tremont) as well. Nostalgic! Neighborhood names have changed, morphed, even moved a bit, along with mobile phones and numbers that we can take with us wherever we go, so those all wouldn’t be so descriptive today anyway.
Fun read though!
April 22, 2021 at 9:12 am |
omg i remember that.. and the cab stand on gunhill road was OL3-3333 until they closed… and on allerton ave it AD1-1111.. they were easy to remember, hence i can recall them 50 years later…lol
March 8, 2021 at 9:51 am |
My first job’s phone number had an MU exchange (I believe it was MU5). My first apartment actual apartment (on my own, no room mate) had a CH exchange (Chelsea). It was actually in Chelsea, on West 20th Street. It wasn’t actually my phone number, it was the number of the pay phone in the hall. I remember only a couple of people actually had their own phone.
Only having to remember 5 numbers instea
d of 7 made it a lot easier to remember.
March 8, 2021 at 10:55 am |
When I was a kid our phone number started with NEw Rochelle 2. When dials arrived in the early 1950s, older folks would mis-dial NR. Then came the next “issue”: they needed another exchange, and BEverly 5 was created. The name had nothing to do with the city; it was just what they could use with that number combination that sounded different enough to be clear to operators when spoken. Of course, all-number dialing resolved the situation, but something was lost along the way.
The plaque in the illustration is in remarkably good shape for what must be its age, which would be at least 50+ years. Might it be a reproduction “for old times’ sake”?
March 8, 2021 at 7:22 pm |
Yes, I assume it’s a reproduction, but I appreciate the company keeping the two letters for old times’ sake!
March 8, 2021 at 11:48 am |
Some other kids I knew had phone numbers with letter exchanges. It’s interesting that some are still around. They are, as another commenter points out, a social marker, as many of them were abbreviations for the neighborhoods they used.
In a related topic: New York’s original area code is 212 because when the system was being devised, its creators didn’t want numbers that started with 0 or 1, or ended with 0. Calls were transmitted according to the number of clicks made by dialing the phone. Within the parameters I’ve mentioned, 212 made the fewest clicks, so it was chosen for the largest (and, we all know, #1) city: New York. Chicago and Los Angeles, at the second- and third-largest cities, got 312 and 213 because they made the fewest clicks, after 212. Of course, nobody envisioned how many numbers would be used for fax machines or cell phones!
March 8, 2021 at 7:24 pm |
No wonder Philadelphia is 215 and LA used to only have 213!
March 8, 2021 at 12:49 pm |
Dear Ephemeral New York,
I’d love to find a full listing of the old exchanges. It would remind me of the city I grew up in. When I was a child, ours was RIverside. Besides MU I remember UNiversity LYceum BUtterfield MOnument CIrcle SPring RHinelander PLaza TRafalgar
I look forward to your Monday emails.
Best wishes, Emily Berleth
On Mon, Mar 8, 2021 at 4:14 AM Ephemeral New York wrote:
> ephemeralnewyork posted: ” Spotted on an unremarkable building on West > 47th Street in the Diamond District: an old-school New York City phone > exchange, in this case “MU.” What does it stand for? Murray Hill, of > course, the neighborhood where the real estate company that put” >
March 8, 2021 at 2:00 pm |
To Emily: There are plenty of online directories of the exchanges that were in use and where they were. It takes a little online searching, but they are there. I just searched “old telephone exchange names” and many informative sites appeared. Give it a try.
March 8, 2021 at 4:28 pm |
I grew up in Enright (EN) 9
March 9, 2021 at 1:55 am |
ME 2
March 8, 2021 at 5:20 pm |
My old phone number was SW 5 2623–SW was for Swinburne–the number later became 795 2623– Prior to SW ir was TO (for Tompkins). This was basically up until about 1965 when I left Washington Heights. Still remember the phone numbers from when I was a child.
March 8, 2021 at 7:17 pm |
Mapping of letters to dialed digits in the 1950s
dialed digit letters
1
2 A B C
3 D E F
4 G H I
5 J K L
6 M N O
7 P R S
8 T U V
9 W X Y
0 Z
Ma Bell’s Officially Recommended Exchange Names
The following is a list of recommended names for dialable/quotable telephone EXchange names. It comes from AT&T/Bell’s publication Notes on Nationwide Dialing, 1955. Many cities with EXchange names had for decades been using names which are not from this list. They were not necessarily required to change the names, although some places might have changed the name to conform with the recommendation. These names were supposed to have been chosen such that pronouncing the name should easily identify the first two significant dialable letters of the word, as well as quoting the two letters themselves wasn’t supposed to be confused with other ‘like-sounding’ letters which were associated with different numbers on the dial. Please note that the 55x, 57x, 95x and 97x ranges are not included: in the original list, it states “Reserved for Radiotelephone Service”.
Unless you know your historical exchange name, choose one from this list to use today.
Special thanks to Mark Cuccia for finding & posting this information to the TELECOM-Digest email journal (comp.dcom.telecom) – Robert Crowe
22
ACademy BAldwin CApital CAstle
23
ADams BElmont BEverly CEdar CEnter CEntral
24
CHapel CHerry CHestnut CHurchill CIrcle
25
ALpine BLackburn CLearbrook CLearwater CLifford CLinton
26
AMherst ANdrew COlfax COlony COngress
27
BRidge BRoad(way) BRown(ing) CRestview CRestwood
28
ATlantic A Tlas A Twater A Twood A V enue BUtler
29
AXminster AXtel CYpress
32
DAvenport DAvis EAst(gate) FAculty FAirfax FAirview
33
DEerfield DEwey EDgewater EDgewood EDison FEderal
34
DIamond DIckens FIeldbrook FIeldstone FIllmore FIrestone
35
ELgin ELliot ELmwood FLanders FLeetwood
36
EMerson EMpire ENdicott FOrest FOxcroft
37
DRake DRexel ESsex FRanklin FRontier
38
DUdley DUnkirk DUpont EV ergreen FUlton
39
EXbrook EXeter EXport EXpress
42
GArden GArfield HAmilton HArrison HAzel
43
GEneral GEneva HEmlock HEmpstead IDlewood
44
GIbson GIlbert HIckman HIckory HIllcrest HIlltop
45
GLadstone GLencourt GLendale GLenview GLobe
46
HObart HOmestead HOpkins HOward INgersoll
47
GRanite GReenwood GReenfield GReenleaf GRover GRidley
48
HUbbard HUdson HUnter HUntley HUxley IV anhoe
49
GYpsy HYacinth HYatt
52
JAckson LAfayette LAkeside LAkeview LAmbert LAwrence
53
JEfferson KEllogg KEystone LEhigh LEnox
54
KImball KIngsdale KIngswood LIberty LIncoln LInden
55
(In 1955, this was reserved for radio telephone numbers)
56
JOhn JOrdan LOcust LOgan LOwell
57
(In 1955, this was reserved for radio telephone numbers)
58
JUniper JUno JUstice LUdlow LUther
59
LYceum LYndhurst LYnwood LYric
62
MAdison MAin MArket MAyfair NAtional
63
MEdford MElrose MErcury NEptune NEwton NEwtown
64
MIdway MIlton MIssion MItchell NIagara
65
OLdfield OLive OLiver OLympia OLympic
66
MOhawk MOntrose MOrris NOrmandy NOrth(field)
67
ORange ORchard ORiole ORleans OSborne
68
MUrdock MUrray MUseum MUtual OV erbrook OV erland
69
MYrtle OWen OXbow OXford
72
PAlace PArk(view) PArk(way) RAndolph RAymond SAratoga
73
PErshing REd(field) REd(wood) REgent REpublic
74
PIlgrim PIoneer RIver(side) RIver(view) SHadyside SHerwood
75
PLateau PLaza PLeasant PLymouth SKyline
76
POplar POrter ROckwell ROger(s) SOuth(field)
77
PRescott PResident PRospect SPring SPruce
78
STate STerling STillwell STory SUnset
79
PYramid SWathmore SWift SWinburne SYcamore
82
TAlbot TAlmadge TAylor V Alley
V Andyke
83
TEmple TEnnyson TErminal TErrace VErnon
84
THornwall TIlden VIctor(ia) VIking VInewood
85
ULrick ULster ULysses
86
TOwnsend UNderhill UNion UNiversity VOlunteer
87
TRemont TRiangle TRinity TRojan UPtown
88
TUcker TUlip TUrner TUxedo
89
TWilight TWinbrook TWinoaks TWining
92
WAbash WAlker WAlnut W Arwick W A verly
93
WEbster WElls WEllington WEst(more) YEllowstone
94
WHitehall WHitney WIlliam(s) WIlson WIndsor
95
(In 1955, this was reserved for radio tele- phone num- bers)
96
WOodland WOodlawn WOodward WOrth YOrktown
97
(In 1955, this was reserved for radio tele- phone num- bers)
98
YUkon
99
WYandotte WYndown WYman
The recommended list of exchange names was:
• 22x: ACademy, BAldwin, CApital, CAstle
• 23x: ADams, BElmont, BEverly, CEdar, CEnter, CEntral
• 24x: CHapel, CHerry, CHestnut, CHurchill, CIrcle
• 25x: ALpine, BLackburn, CLoverdale, CLearbrook, CLearwater, CLifford, CLinton
• 26x: AMherst, ANdrew, COlfax, COlony, COngress
• 27x: BRidge, BRoad(way), BRown(ing), CRestview, CRestwood
• 28x: ATlantic, ATlas, ATwater, ATwood, AVenue, BUtler
• 29x: AXminster, AXtel, CYpress
• 32x: DAvenport, DAvis, EAst(gate), FAculty, FAirfax, FAirview
• 33x: DEerfield, DEwey, EDgewater, EDgewood, EDison, FEderal
• 34x: DIamond, DIckens, FIeldbrook, FIeldstone, FIllmore, FIrestone
• 35x: ELgin, ELliot, ELmwood, FLanders, FLeetwood
• 36x: EMerson, EMpire, ENdicott, FOrest, FOxcroft
• 37x: DRake, DRexel, ESplanade, ESsex, FRanklin, FRontier
• 38x: DUdley, DUnkirk, DUpont, EVergreen, FUlton
• 39x: EXbrook, EXeter, EXport, EXpress
• 42x: GArden, GArfield, HAmilton, HArrison, HAzel
• 43x: GEneral, GEneva, HEmlock, HEmpstead, IDlewood
• 44x: GIbson, GIlbert, HIckman, HIckory, HIllcrest, HIlltop
• 45x: GLadstone, GLencourt, GLendale, GLenview, GLobe
• 46x: HObart, HOmestead, HOpkins, HOward, INgersoll
• 47x: GRanite, GReenfield, GReenleaf, GReenwood, GRidley, GRover
• 48x: HUbbard, HUdson, HUnter, HUntley, HUxley, IVanhoe
• 49x: GYpsy, HYacinth, HYatt
• 52x: JAckson, LAfayette, LAkeside, LAkeview, LAmbert, LAwrence
• 53x: JEfferson, KEllogg, KEystone, LEhigh, LEnox
• 54x: KImball, KIngsdale, KIngswood, LIberty, LIncoln, LInden
• 56x: JOhn, JOrdan, LOcust, LOgan, LOwell
• 58x: JUniper, JUno, JUstice, LUdlow, LUther
• 59x: LYceum, LYndhurst, LYnwood, LYric
• 62x: MAdison, MAin, MArket, MAyfair, NAtional
• 63x: MEdford, MElrose, MErcury, NEptune, NEwton, NEwtown
• 64x: MIdway, MIlton, MIssion, MItchell, NIagara
• 65x: OLdfield, OLive, OLiver, OLympia, OLympic
• 66x: MOhawk, MOntrose, MOrris, NOrmandy, NOrth(field)
• 67x: ORange, ORchard, ORiole, ORleans, OSborne
• 68x: MUrdock, MUrray, MUseum, MUtual, OVerbrook, OVerland
• 69x: MYrtle, OWen, OXbow, OXford
• 72x: PAlace, PArk(view), PArk(way), RAndolph, RAymond, SAratoga
• 73x: PErshing, REd(field), REd(wood), REgent, REpublic
• 74x: PIlgrim, PIoneer, RIver(side), RIver(view), SHadyside, SHerwood
• 75x: PLateau, PLaza, PLeasant, PLymouth, SKyline
• 76x: POplar, POrter, ROckwell, ROger(s), SOuth(field)
• 77x: PRescott, PResident, PRospect, SPring, SPruce
• 78x: STate, STerling, STillwell, STory, SUffolk, SUnset,
• 79x: PYramid, SWathmore, SWift, SWinburne, SYcamore
• 82x: TAlbot, TAlmadge, TAylor, VAlley, VAndyke
• 83x: TEmple(ton), TEnnyson, TErminal, TErrace, VErnon
• 84x: THornwell, TIlden, VIctor(ia), VIking, VInewood
• 85x: ULrick, ULster, ULysses
• 86x: TOwnsend, UNderhill, UNion, UNiversity, VOlunteer
• 87x: TRemont, TRiangle, TRinity, TRojan, UPtown
• 88x: TUcker, TUlip, TUrner, TUxedo
• 89x: TWilight, TWinbrook, TWining, TWinoaks
• 92x: WAbash, WAlker, WAlnut, WArwick, WAverly
• 93x: WEbster, WEllington, WElls, WEst(more), YEllowstone
• 94x: WHitehall, WHitney, WIlliam(s), WIlson, WIndsor
• 96x: WOodland, WOodlawn, WOodward, WOrth, YOrktown
• 98x: YUkon
• 99x: WYandotte, WYman, WYndown
Fictitious phone numbers starting with 55 used the fictitious exchange name KLondike (55). The letters Q and Z were never used in the naming system, but Z was often mapped on the telephone dial to the digit 0 (zero).
March 9, 2021 at 4:32 pm |
My phone number when I lived in Tudor City/Manhattan was MU76371. And growing up in Sheepshead Bay/Brooklyn it was Sh3-9878 and I also had a pink princess phone (sure miss it) was TW1-3036.
March 10, 2021 at 12:45 am |
OMG a PINK princess phone! Jealous.
And someone wrote about how much easier it was to remember those old telephone numbers: I can still remember a few belonging to classmates but not sure where I’ve left my glasses. Great stuff.
March 10, 2021 at 5:35 pm
Thanks for your message. Back in the day you could only rent the princess phone. Was not avail for purchase. The only way now to find one is to scour thrift stores/flea markets and pay upwards of $40-60. Have seen them but not the pink version.
March 10, 2021 at 5:44 pm
I just retired a beige one last week – it still sort of works but was getting a bit electronically “crackly.” Still, those things were built to last.
March 10, 2021 at 6:14 pm
Joanne, if Ms. Ephemeral is willing to connect us, I’ll send you my Princess phone for the price of shipping and the box. It still works okay. I assume, since she approved us, that she has both of our email addresses.
March 10, 2021 at 6:27 pm |
Countrypaul: Thanks for letting me know. Is this a “pink” princess phone or beige one? And if so how much will it cost for shipping/box. Please advise.
March 10, 2021 at 8:07 pm |
It’s beige. I don’t know what the cost would be; it depends on where we are and the type of mailing. If it helps, I’m in the northern NJ part of metro NYC.
March 10, 2021 at 8:39 pm
countrypaul: Thanks for the offer but I’ll pass on color. Saw some pink phones listed on Ebay…Prices have gone up a lot. Take care.
January 16, 2023 at 4:33 am |
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