Old Cincinnati Telephone Pre-Fix Names (Finneytown, Reading: hotel, university, live)

[Cincinnati Kid]

Remember some of the telephone pre-fix numbers in the Cincinnati area?

LOcust = 561-xxxx
TWeed = 891-xxxx
SYcamore = 791-xxxx
BRamble = 271-xxxx
PArkway = 721-xxxx
DUnbar = 381-xxxx

There were many, many others. These were used up into the early 1960's when the phone company just went to the numbered pre-fixes and dropped the names. Of course, for those old enough to remember, up to about 1955, you didn't have to dial the number 1 after the pre-fix.

[MiddleCincinnati]

Can recall these names from old businesses back in the day:

MElrose for 631-
POplar for 761-
VAlley for 821-
JEfferson for 531-

Regardless whether the third digit is implicit or explicit, these mnemoinics are fairly benign and would still seem to be useful.

[goyguy]

861 = UNiversity

[MiddleCincinnati]

241- was CHerry.
521- may have been JAckson.

[joyeaux]

So I lived in Wyoming & had "521" -- is that comparable to your JAckson?
I get the concept -- in NYC where I grew up we had the same system (I assume it was a national concept), called "exchanges".
But is Jackson some place near the current city of Wyoming or would it mean around Jackson Street in the city of Cincinnati?
I never heard of an area called Jackson ...?

[Cincinnati Kid]

I don't recall a JAckson exchange. Could 521- have come after the switch from the letter-prefix to the number-prefix? I'm not sure when "joyeaux" resided in Wyoming, but maybe it was in more recent years. One reason for the switch was to add number-only pre-fixes was to be able to add pre-fixes that didn't have to match up to a name (like SYcamore, BRamble, etc.) and thus to be able to add more telephone numbers.

[MiddleCincinnati]

I cannot speak with authority, but always thought it was a mixed bag. Growing up in Bond Hill, for example, we used to refer to the 531 exchange as "Jefferson-1", but it was never clear what Jefferson had to do with that locality. Similarly, nearby businesses using 631 often listed their numbers as "MElrose-1". Again, the significance of Melrose was not clear.

After moving to Wyoming, we did have neighbors using an 821 exchange. In that instance "VAlley-1" made a lot of sense. I don't recall seeing that many poplar trees in the area, but did see businesses listing 761 as "POplar-1".

Regardless what digit terminates the exchange, these mnemonics would still seem useful today, but their use is almost extinct.. "PEnnsylvania-3 5000" is enshrined among big-band classics, though.

[Cincinnati Kid]

Thank you for the information. The VAlley pre-fix was a good choice for Wyoming along with Lockland and Reading since those communities are located in the Mill Creek Valley.

I believe the big-band song title is PEnnsylvania 6-5000. I stayed at the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York City a number of years ago and on the room telephone was that number. In fact, add the 212 area code and that is still that number for the hotel.

[MiddleCincinnati]

Originally Posted by Cincinnati Kid

I believe the big-band song title is PEnnsylvania 6-5000. I stayed at the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York City a number of years ago and on the room telephone was that number. In fact, add the 212 area code and that is still that number for the hotel.

Thank you for the correction. On the topic of New York exchanges, any idea whether "Butterfield 8" also refers to a phone exchange?

The 521 exchange was already being used in Wyoming in the early 1960s but was probably more widespread in Finneytown and North College Hill. JAckson-1 is probably incorrect. LAthrop? KAleidoscope? ...

Just looking at modern touch-tone buttons, it seems like a system of two-letter mnemonics remains feasible today. With at least three letters per digit (excepting zero) familiar words or names should be available for every two-digit combination.

[jlawrence01]

BEechmont - 231 and 232