I spotted this 4-Star Telephone Exchange Name yesterday in the Carroll Gardens/Gowanus part of Brooklyn.

ULster-5-6463. Joe's Superette in Brooklyn

ULster-5-6463. Joe’s Superette in Brooklyn

A 4-Star Exchange Name Sighting is one in which the phone number has been publicly displayed at a place of business since the days of telephone exchange names, and where the phone number can successfully be translated into today’s area-code format to produce the current phone number for the place of business. UL.5-6463 seen above becomes (718) 855-6463, which is the phone number for JOE’s S PERETTE (actually the place is called Joe’s Superette, but the U ran away).

Exchange name sightings like these prove that a place has been in business for a long, long time and that for whatever reason (pride, maybe?) the owners choose to leave the obsolete numbers on public display. I think it’s pretty cool, and any time I see one of these old numbers I feel like I’ve cracked an old code.

3-Star: A 3-star sighting is something like this FAirbanks Exchange Name or this ESplanade Exchange. Numbers like these, tucked into the corners of signs and on fences, advertise the company which produced the sign or fence. These exchange names do not usually reflect the geographical area in which they are seen but they do prove that the sign itself, the fence, and/or the place of business has been around for a long time.

2-Star: 2-Star sightings comprise faded relics such as this ALgonquin sighting or this RAvenswood number. These old bits of signage show numbers for businesses long since gone. When translated into modern area-code format these old numbers usually go to newer businesses or private residences. This creates the intriguing scenario of a modern company or even a random individual whose phone number, albeit in primitive form, lurks in plain sight over New York City. Some businesses might appreciate the obscure form of free advertising, but what of the individuals?

Another 2-star sighting is when a modern company makes retro-chic use of Exchange Names, as did the Frank Music Company with its JUdson exchange name.

1-Star: 1-Star sightings comprise historical objects, such as museum pieces, advertisements in old magazines, and certain old photographs showing exchange names either long-gone or preserved for posterity.