This explains it all:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CVbku6nxhU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CVbku6nxhU
1
We in Moscow had similar experience when city added another area code, "499" and reassigned numbers for a few million households. But it turned out, no one really cared: with cell phone penetration over 96%, overwhelming prevalence of prepaid and average 2+ SIM cards for every person the transition went surprisingly smooth.
I can't believe how self absorbed and elitist this ridiculous article is. This is every bad stereotype I have of New Yorkers. While people are starving and dying you're worried about an area code and status associated with a number. Sick.
8
How phony to want to have a 212 number for image purposes. Wasn't there a time when only landline numbers could be 212 and all cell phones were 917 or 646 even if you lived in Manhattan?
If there were any value in having 212 as your area code, it is quickly devalued by the number of out-of-towners who have 212 as well.
I've had 212 since I moved here in the '70s. Everyone had 212. Who cares?
If there were any value in having 212 as your area code, it is quickly devalued by the number of out-of-towners who have 212 as well.
I've had 212 since I moved here in the '70s. Everyone had 212. Who cares?
7
This is the ultimate example of how shallow NYC residents can be. I guess if you have no other defining traits, you can always rely on a telephone number. Pretty pathetic.
7
OOPS
My bad
I thought the house in the distance looked like Hawthorne Gardens, but the M7 doesn’t run up there & B’way is not one way!
Photo probably in Harlem/
My bad
I thought the house in the distance looked like Hawthorne Gardens, but the M7 doesn’t run up there & B’way is not one way!
Photo probably in Harlem/
1
I can't believe that I can remember our first phone number, HYacinth 4-9245. That was Brooklyn, 1958. No Area Codes at all. There were no ZIP codes, either. It was Brooklyn 19, NY. I do remember when they introduced ZIP codes, and I vowed that I would never use them.
The only thing that all this proves is that I'm not so young anymore.
The only thing that all this proves is that I'm not so young anymore.
7
I was an operator for a time. There were always area codes but we called them routes that took us to other cities. They were separate from the newer area codes and we would use them when a customer called and said he was having trouble dialing a number. First we tried the area code route then the routing codes. It would usually go through that way. Our remember our mail code as 37 which was Wyckoff Heights. Ridgewood Queens started a block away. We had an EVergreen telephone number.
My parents first telephone exchange number was ULster (Borough Park) and when we moved to Flatbush, the exchange was PResident. Remember 2 party lines and having a live operator on the other end when you dialed 0. My neighbor worked for NY Telephone as an operator and several times she answered when we dialed 0. International calls were difficult to make; reservations were required!
Allen, we must have grown up in the same neighborhood! The PO was Blytheborune on 13th Avenue and about 57th Street. Life was definitely more simple back in those good old days, air raid sirens at 12 noon, shelter drills in school under the desks and window shopping without looking through iron gates.
Allen, we must have grown up in the same neighborhood! The PO was Blytheborune on 13th Avenue and about 57th Street. Life was definitely more simple back in those good old days, air raid sirens at 12 noon, shelter drills in school under the desks and window shopping without looking through iron gates.
3
You've got to be kidding me. #thetimesisonit
5
The most shallow people in the country live in NYC, and I learned this from 30 years of working with them.
5
Native New Yorkers know who we are. We don't need a phone number to feel like we belong. That sort of superficial external validation is for the newbies and the insecure.
11
Perhaps, an anthropologist might find this silly matter an interesting example of artificial distinctions created by people hungry to feel superior to their neighbors on whatever basis they can find. Though I must admit feeling a little special having a 212 land line, and just a little nonplussed that I only have a 917 cell phone number.
In any case, perhaps the best definition of a true New Yorker is someone who cares for the people of New York City and its many cultural and educational institutions, and despises the misuse of NYC by the gangsters on Wall Street.
In any case, perhaps the best definition of a true New Yorker is someone who cares for the people of New York City and its many cultural and educational institutions, and despises the misuse of NYC by the gangsters on Wall Street.
9
The picture is from Inwood (207th & B'way) which most people think is in one of the outta boros. I tell people that I grew up in Manhattan (pause) 207th Street. They say Isn't that The Bronx?
We had a Lorraine exchange in the early '40s in Inwood & a party line.
Friend retired & moved form LI to Manhattan & Got his daughter's 212 Number as she was leaving for Jersey. Apparently the thrill of a lifetime.
Another smug snob asked me at a reunion how I could live away from the City. His exchange was 212 but his address signified Mitchel-Lama housing. I asked him if he realized that I knew who he was & I knew where he lived (like the old Joan Crawford movie) & that he didn't live off CPW. He was surprised.
We had a Lorraine exchange in the early '40s in Inwood & a party line.
Friend retired & moved form LI to Manhattan & Got his daughter's 212 Number as she was leaving for Jersey. Apparently the thrill of a lifetime.
Another smug snob asked me at a reunion how I could live away from the City. His exchange was 212 but his address signified Mitchel-Lama housing. I asked him if he realized that I knew who he was & I knew where he lived (like the old Joan Crawford movie) & that he didn't live off CPW. He was surprised.
5
When I moved back to Manhattan ten years ago after a hiatus of several years of living in the United States instead, I was confronted with an unexpected obligation - I needed a land line in my apartment because the front door intercom is tied into residents' phones...pretty steampunk. To my surprise, 212 was still an option...I got to pick among several phone number exchanges and could not resist 666. So my number is 212-666-.... Both coveted and diabolical, only in Manhattan!
6
That was a doorbell system rented from the telephone company. It eliminated the need to have wiring from each apartment to unlock the door and provide an intercom.
A 212 transforms its owner into the company of the Astors. Anything else might just as well come from a cheap cellphone, government subsidized, from a bowery flophouse. My nephew, while job-seeking made certain he qualified for a 212. Once you have one, you can transfer it to a cellphone or a voip phone, or even google voice. Then move out of town with it. Once you're dead, however, I think the number may return to the stable of the original phone company.
2
I had my 212 number ported to my cell after my husband passed away and I had to temporarily sublet my apartment. It had nothing to do with vanity, but I have had that number for over 40 years (it even predated my husband) and I wanted to make sure old friends could always find me. My exchange was CHelsea 3, that one hasn't been mentioned in any of the comments. Not quite BUtterfield 8, but...
5
Greetings from 718 land! This is just my guess based on quick check of NANPA databases but the new area code might be one of the following - 230, 332, 677, 946, 948, 953, 955, 974, 983, 986, 987, 988. (Area Code 582 is probably for future 718 split.) I hope it's one of the 9xx series numbers because I bet that a high number will annoy Manhattanites who worry about such things.
3
People who are willing to admit candidly to a reporter that their motivation for acting is because of the pursuit of "status" appear, to me at least, to be very insecure and empty. I think it's a sad commentary on the materialism of our culture today that so many people don't feel ashamed at all about admitting this.
14
I'm born and raised in Brooklyn and I have a 718 cell number and I don't intend on giving it up! Does that mean I lose some street cred?
5
There is something to be said for the theory that New Yorkers are the most provincial people in the United States.
9
the next area code should be 692. just tell 'em to dial 'NYC!'
" Operator, can you help me
Help me if you please
Give me the right area code
And the number that I need
My rider left upon the Midnight Flyer
Singin' like a summer breeze . . . "
Ron Charles McKernan, aka Pigpen
" Operator, can you help me
Help me if you please
Give me the right area code
And the number that I need
My rider left upon the Midnight Flyer
Singin' like a summer breeze . . . "
Ron Charles McKernan, aka Pigpen
5
For technical reasons 692 is unassignable as an area code as are all potential area codes with a '9' in the middle.
2
A similar occurrence with telephone numbers. Newer machines were installed with a "9" or "0" as the fourth digit so operators would know if it was a payphone.
1
New Yorkers are sometimes so pathetic, especially those who live in Manhattan. I had two 212 numbers and dumped them both after Hurricane Sandy for cell phones. And I could not care less. Just another example of people here who think they're something special. Sadly, for many the height of their "specialness" is the ability to spend money. With a home here and upstate I can tell you that people outside the city are far more polite and contrary to common stereotypes are just as intelligent and talented. They just don't need to stand in front of the mirror and recite it to themselves.
14
Interesting comments about "area code snobbery", etc. Maybe there is some of that, but I'm inclined to believe it's more about history or nostalgia. What's wrong with that?
7
For the transplants it's all about image believe me nothing nostalgic about it.
11
I'm on the outside, i have a 718 cell number and i love it! it does remind me of the REAL New York at least for me. But only a fool would by one!
1
Another charming telephone memory, now long gone, were actual names for exchanges. My old number was 259, which meant Clearwater.
4
So true, I grew up in N Jersey when there were still named exchanges and between area code and exchange one could almosts pin down a neighborhood, or at least a part of town or city. And many of the ads had jingles that included the phone number with the named exchange and 4 numbers which was easier to remember than full 7 digits. But alas, now need all 10 digits to call the neighbor and they might have an Alaskan area code on their cell but live next to you in Jacksonville, FL
1
There was a plumber in North Miami on 125th Street in the PLaza exchange who had a huge neon sign on the building with his phone number. Just dial PLUMBER which was 758-6237. Southern Bell built the new 891 exchange behind his building and changed his telephone number. He sued them and they settled for him to keep that number as long as he didn't move. They trunked in the number for years. Today they would just use remote call forwarding. After that a noticed was placed in the telephone books that the numbers were the property of the telephone company and could be changed at their discretion according to service needs.
This is truly absurd. I receive and make calls everyday to friends and business contacts all over NY, and never have I thought nor cared what their area code is. The funny thing is most people my age are moving to Brooklyn because it's young and hip, and they only thing they seem to care about is how many likes someone has on Instagram.
2
The article did point out that it is generally more important to folks over a certain age. And what is the difference really between area code or other status snobbery and how many likes/"friends" you have on social media?
1
This symbolizes the craziness that is New York. Having a 212 area codes is a status symbol? I don't think higher of anyone who has a 212 number. They got it by sheer coincidence.
8
If it means so much to them I'll sell them mine. For a large sum of money of course.
6
I am a native New Yorker (Brooklyn) who has lived in Manhattan for nearly thirty years, and we do have the 212 home area code. But I can remember when the entire city, even the Bronx, were all 212; and yep, my first phone number was Buckminster 2-7158. I can remember in the 70s/early 80s people wanted to bring back those exchanges--DIckens. HIckory. PEnnsylvania. MUrray Hill. so it's always something. But I'm keeping the home phone for that reason--though we never use it.
4
I think the phone number of the Hotel Pennsylvania is still 212-736-5000. So, PEnnsylvania 6-5000 if you want to think of it that way.
5
It's the old game of envy and showing-off. My number is better than yours!!! I'm a REAL New Yorker.
11
Oh for the lovely days of actual names instead of numbers -- Trafalga...Pennsylvania...Murray Hill...Beacon...and Liz Taylor's favorite....Butterfield 8..
12
I was told years ago, when the 212 area codes started being distributed for cell phones, that the reason the phone companies were able to offer them was because of 9/11; that the destruction of the World Trade Center had tragically "freed up" 212 phone numbers. So I was always under the impression that a 212 area code for cell phones came with somewhat of a taint and was admittedly appalled when a friend of mine showed up with one. Since she lived in Queens at the time, I suggested she go back and ask for a 718 number
1
It's funny that only people who are not originally from New York City care about the area code. Maybe they think it will make them true New Yorkers. I am from New York but move away years ago. If I ever move back, I will probably not get a 212 number. However, I won't care. You can take the kid out of New York, but you can never take New York out of the kid.
8
Don't think it's technically possible now but since we have so many area codes in NYC it would have made sense to give each borough it's own area code, with Manhattan getting the multiple overlayed codes. Because of this current system I have to dial 10-digits to call my next door neighbor. If each borough had it's own code we would only have to dial 7 digits intra-borough.
2
When I moved to Manhattan from Los Angeles in 1996 I got two home phone lines - one for talking and one for dial-up Internet. Both were 212 area code numbers. When I finally got a cellphone in 2004 I no longer needed two home phones so transferred the 'dial-up' number to my cell. It was a novelty then to have a cellphone with a 212 area code. The problem for me is that my friends constantly mix up my home and cell numbers as both begin with the same 1st three digits after the area code.
Meantime, I grew up with area code 213 in Los Angeles and that used to cover the entire city. Now the city has been so divided with area codes that 213 now covers some of the less desirable downtown neighborhoods. So 213 lost its "status" while the "status" of 212 has accelerated. Amusing to me.
Meantime, I grew up with area code 213 in Los Angeles and that used to cover the entire city. Now the city has been so divided with area codes that 213 now covers some of the less desirable downtown neighborhoods. So 213 lost its "status" while the "status" of 212 has accelerated. Amusing to me.
4
212 new york
313 Detroit (my home town)
312 Chicago
213 Los Angeles.
It was useful to know where people were from by the code. ah nostalgia.
and the exchanges were information too. One of mine was University (UN) followed by a 5 digit number. that is the University district in Detroit. by U of D.
313 Detroit (my home town)
312 Chicago
213 Los Angeles.
It was useful to know where people were from by the code. ah nostalgia.
and the exchanges were information too. One of mine was University (UN) followed by a 5 digit number. that is the University district in Detroit. by U of D.
5
Not a status issue (for me) but I've lived in several similar area codes that after a while easily get misdialed. All except the NJ one are still mostly identified and recognized for their location -
907 Alaska
909 Riverside CA
904 Jacksonville FL
908 NJ
Until jr high still had named exchanges, and many of the radio and tv ads from meto NY had a jingle with the name and numbers. Could also tell the neighborhood or section of town or city by the exchange. Similar to area codes for larger regions
907 Alaska
909 Riverside CA
904 Jacksonville FL
908 NJ
Until jr high still had named exchanges, and many of the radio and tv ads from meto NY had a jingle with the name and numbers. Could also tell the neighborhood or section of town or city by the exchange. Similar to area codes for larger regions
1
Approximately 20 years ago I was in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. Vendors were constantly trying to get our attention. Their first question was nationality. Once they established American, the next question was New York or LA? The final question? 212 or 718. Loved it then, and love it now!
5
Shallow people. How can a 3 digit number be something to strive for unless it wins the lottery?
The great people with the great apartments and the rotary phones that still had the window in the middle with LE for Lehigh or MU for Murray Hill have all passed. Frank Scanio's name is still emblazoned on moving trucks in town, but like these attentions, it is meaningless to me. I miss you, Mr.Scanio.
2
'The only acceptable area code'? How pretensious and shallow can you get?
5
I recall the time phone subscribers in Santa Rosa, California revolted at the removal of their word prefix with the rallying cry "Give me LIBERTY or give me death".
2
As a practical matter, I prefer the 917 code for my cell and 212 for my land line. That way there's rarely any confusion.
Remember, of course, that the 212 code was assigned to NYC because it required the least effort in dialing. Hence, 312 for Chicago, 213 for Los Angeles, etc. Now, of course, the juxtaposition of numerals makes little difference when we're just pressing buttons.
Remember, of course, that the 212 code was assigned to NYC because it required the least effort in dialing. Hence, 312 for Chicago, 213 for Los Angeles, etc. Now, of course, the juxtaposition of numerals makes little difference when we're just pressing buttons.
6
It wasn't so much customer effort as reduced idle time for the switching equipment in the central office. So many calls are made to and in a large city that it sped up the equipment operation. Touchtone really sped it up. Can you remember how exasperating it was to keep calling a busy number when you had a rotary dial phone?
1
I grew up in New York with a 212 area code. 212-AT9-8875. AT9 for Atwater 9 when telephone exchanges meant something. My sister and I talked on the phone after school so much that our parents gave in and got a kids' line, 212-AT9-9089. Our mother's store jewelry store, Lynne's Speciality Shop, at 1288 Lexington (212-289-6919) between 86th and 87th on a block with other small businesses, was a short walk from P.S. 6 (212-737-9774), with a stop at Liggett's on the corner for a Coke at the counter. All happy 212 memories.
4
Many years ago I moved to NYC and got a small apartment on the upper east side. To me a phone number (rotary dial) was no big deal. Only later when I told someone my number I got the response - "Oh the silk stocking district". It was 288 or butterfield 8. Only later did the movie came out with Elizabeth Taylor.
How wonderful were the times so simple that a phone number could make a difference.
BTW as a single male then - the worst possible fate was to be considered a "Bridge and Tunnel" person - you were GU.
How wonderful were the times so simple that a phone number could make a difference.
BTW as a single male then - the worst possible fate was to be considered a "Bridge and Tunnel" person - you were GU.
3
Now the bridge and tunnel crowd lives in Manhattan!
2
After 30 years of living in NYC I dream about the day I can retire and move away from this overcrowded, overpriced city.
I will be happy to forfeit my 212 area code!
I will be happy to forfeit my 212 area code!
3
Of course, the very pinnacle of entering into the circle of becoming a real New York Times elitist hipster would be --- to live in Brooklyn and still have a 212 area code...
10
Hey...I go back to the days when we had letter prefixes...oh, the joy of those years...
3
I thought all the superficial folk were on the west coast...
8
After reading with amusement Patrick McGeehan's story about area code envy, I wondered why use of the 347 area code in Manhattan since 2010 was not reported. In the spirit of McGeehan's article, I will note that almost no one I encountered recognized the 347 area code (this Manhattanite's own) for years. It is only in the last year or two that people are indicating they know it stems from somewhere in New York City.
2
There are times that I miss the old days when you could tell a person or businesses' location by the area code. That said: I was born in 212, raised and lived in 718, eventually got a pager of 917. After moving to the Midwest I am now a 303. What's in a number?
3
Talk about pretentious and plastic shinny people (who want a 212 number). SMH
3
Thank you Helen. What makes people think that New York City = Mannhattan?
I grew up in the Bronx. I Am A True New Yorker.
I grew up in the Bronx. I Am A True New Yorker.
2
I grew up in Brooklyn. Seems like mostly transplants crave nonsense like 212 numbers.
5
I was born in New York County. How many people know that that is Manhattan? The original New York was Manhattan after the British renamed the city from the Dutch New Amsterdam. Brooklyn was Bruekelen,(Broken Land) Queens was Long Island and Staten Island was Richmond. Manhattan is New York. The other boroughs are just a political decision.
A fool and his money...
5
Is it surprising that someone wearing a Canadian Goose Jacket ($750) would covet a cell number pre-fix of 212?
6
that 212 status stuff ain't what it used to be. Back when 646 was first introduced (and 718 before that) individuals and companies would frantically try to get a 212 number. Now, who cares at this point? we all have to dial the area code, in any case. Deal with it, and move on
2
It does sound dumb, but I think it works the other way around as well. I moved away from NYC recently, but made the effort to keep my cellphone number, which I had since junior high school. It's a 718 area code (to my knowledge, most area codes for cellphones in Queens switched over to 917), and it just reminds me home.
1
Heaven help us from wannabes like this couple from Boston, for heaven's sake grow up or stay in Boston. NYC is much more than an area code. How shallow can people be?
7
Sorry, but it takes a lot more than a 212 area code to be a New Yorker.
44
Exactly.
4
Can't believe author of article didn't mention classic Seinfeld episode where Elaine gets new phone # that's not 212
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CVbku6nxhU
then later in episode looses a date because of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CVbku6nxhU
then later in episode looses a date because of it.
13
You want phone number snobbery? I got phone number snobbery for you:
Church Hill 25. Let us continue.
Let us return to those thrilling days of yesteryear. When I resided at One Gramercy Park. When I had a 212 area code. When I could take a helicopter from the roof of the Pan Am building to the airport. When I sat next to Andy at the round table in the back of Max's preening and cooing along with the best of NYC's preeners and cooers. But something was missing from my vain and shallow existence. Something impressive. And so I acquired Church Hill 25 to route my personal calls through.
It could not be dialed. It required the assistance of the international operator. And of the local operator in County Donegal. But those who wished to connect with my gloriousness had no choice but to spend time and treasure in a ritual I must admit I came up with after reading Terry Southern's " The Magic Christian".
Those who successfully completed their task did not actually get to speak with me. Their message would be taken by the butler at Glenveagh Castle, Henry McIlhenny's 28,000 acre stag stalking property, and relayed back to my horribly inadequate 212 coded number, a number common to all New Yorkers.
How anyone can bear the indignity of a non-212 area code during these trying times is beyond me. You all have my extraordinary sympathy.
Church Hill 25. Let us continue.
Let us return to those thrilling days of yesteryear. When I resided at One Gramercy Park. When I had a 212 area code. When I could take a helicopter from the roof of the Pan Am building to the airport. When I sat next to Andy at the round table in the back of Max's preening and cooing along with the best of NYC's preeners and cooers. But something was missing from my vain and shallow existence. Something impressive. And so I acquired Church Hill 25 to route my personal calls through.
It could not be dialed. It required the assistance of the international operator. And of the local operator in County Donegal. But those who wished to connect with my gloriousness had no choice but to spend time and treasure in a ritual I must admit I came up with after reading Terry Southern's " The Magic Christian".
Those who successfully completed their task did not actually get to speak with me. Their message would be taken by the butler at Glenveagh Castle, Henry McIlhenny's 28,000 acre stag stalking property, and relayed back to my horribly inadequate 212 coded number, a number common to all New Yorkers.
How anyone can bear the indignity of a non-212 area code during these trying times is beyond me. You all have my extraordinary sympathy.
10
Stig how I loved your comment.
1
Good story. In the days before direct international dialing calling a foreign country was a big deal, and expensive. Now every country on earth has a Country Code, even Antarctica can be dialed directly using country code 672.
2
Great way to avoid junk calls. Do answering services still exist?
2
I used to work for New York Telephone. In the 1970s I was working in Murray Hill. There was also a demand for telephone numbers that represented it with the 68 prefix code which stood for MUrray Hill. On a few occasions customers would refuse service unless they got a MUrray Hill number and I would have to call the business office for a number reassignment. When I lived in Brooklyn as a boy most of us in Bushwick had numbers that told you how close we were to the Botanical Gardens in Prospect Park. IVy, EVergreen, HYacinth were the main ones. Cross Irving Avenue and you had a number form the exchange on Glenmore Avenue in Queens. My Grandmother had GLenmore 6-0650 for over 50 years. One day she called and said her phone number had been changed to 456-0650. Those old prefix names told people where you lived. Today with portbility of service you can live in California and still have that 212 area code and get your telephone calls even on land lines.
5
Our Brooklyn exchange was TRiangle-1 (871). My current exchange is 667, which was never a lettered exchange.
We were a HYacinth number, in Brooklyn see my comment below). I never knew it had anything to do with the Botanical Gardens.
Live and Learn.
Live and Learn.
When the Space Coast of Florida needed a new area code the people prevailed upon the regulators to assign 321 Get it ?
8
The only number I care about is the winning lottery number.
4
Weirdly enough, this week it's 212.
3
There's yet another zone of rarified numerical compulsion - having the first 3 digits of your local number resemble an area code of additional significance in your life. I'm a displanted NYC'er living in West Palm Beach (561)... My cell # is 212-561-xxxx... Am I a kool sort of fellow you'd love to date, or what?!?
4
The greatest of 212 numbers was of course PEnnsylvania 6-5000.
The second greatest was the longtime main number for CBS, Inc., (212) 765-4321. How CBS ever let that one get away, I'll always wonder.
Running a close third: (212) NERVOUS, which used to broadcast the correct time.
The second greatest was the longtime main number for CBS, Inc., (212) 765-4321. How CBS ever let that one get away, I'll always wonder.
Running a close third: (212) NERVOUS, which used to broadcast the correct time.
5
I have never met anyone with a 212 cell phone. If I did, I would not think of it as the status symbol these people covet; I would just find it incongruously strange.
5
Could these people possibly be any more shallow?
7
I can't believe that I can remember our first phone #, HYacinth 4-9245. That was Brooklyn, 1958. No Area Codes at all. There were no ZIP codes, either. It was Brooklyn 19, NY. I do remember when they introduced ZIP codes, and I vowed that I would never use them.
The only thing that all this proves is that I'm not so young anymore.
The only thing that all this proves is that I'm not so young anymore.
5
Ironically, the one area code which will never be used is "666", proving how Christian this country is.
1
But 666 is a prefix for the upper West Side
3
555 will never be given to the public. It's a private code used by the telephone companies directory assistance numbers. In the movies they used to always use KLondike-5-2368. A call to that number will always connect you to directory assistance.
I love having a landline and cell phone (which was my old dedicated computer line) that are both 212 area codes. It helps when restaurants and shops and services realize that you are in Manhattan, and for the rest of my numbers, a specific, now hot, area as well.
I once had a friend that wanted to one of my numbers to complete her transition from out of town to the city but I didn't give in and sell or give it to her. Months later after her move to NYC we were no longer friends.
I kept the more valuable relationship.
I once had a friend that wanted to one of my numbers to complete her transition from out of town to the city but I didn't give in and sell or give it to her. Months later after her move to NYC we were no longer friends.
I kept the more valuable relationship.
5
Good grief! This would have beans perfect storyline for an episode of Seinfeld.
3
smath, it was. Elaine was given a 646 when she moved.
3
Actually the "Sex and the City" movie did deal with this area code obsession when Carrie got a new cell phone and it had the 646 area code. Ms. Bradshaw's Manolo-obsessed, cosmopolitan-swilling little world was rocked.
My first phone number was - Bayonne 7-9394 J- How many readers can remember what the J designation represented?
You had a party line?
1
Party line?
1
Party line.
Out of towners - sigh.... If you want a 212 area code so badly, I have one I can sell to you. Really, how stupid and shallow can you be? I don't need a 212 area code to feel like a New Yorker.
56
If I could pick my area code it would be 420.
14
Area Code 420 is currently unassigned and available.
2
Taxpayer - it's not available around here unfortunately.
When I moved to Chicago the first thing I did was get a 312 area code cell phone number. Years ago 312 was the city and 773 was the suburbs - today 312 is just downtown. But of course with cell phones it doesn't mater where you are. It's a little thing but fun. There is of course a beer named after this area code.
4
Actually, 773 has always been a Chicago-only area code. You could never call the suburbs with it. The whole metro area was 312 until 1989, when the suburbs had to switch to 708, which was further split with 630 and and 847 in '96. All non-downtown city numbers became 773 in '97, no matter how long you lived here. (My grandmother has--amazingly--managed to maintain the same landline number for most of her adult life, and even she's 773. It's the 7 digits that come after that stayed the same.)
312 doesn't have the cachet among locals that 212 does for New Yorkers. For most of us, 312 is probably just your work number. (And a good beer.)
(And hey--thanks for the chance to use my arcane knowledge of Chicago area code history!)
312 doesn't have the cachet among locals that 212 does for New Yorkers. For most of us, 312 is probably just your work number. (And a good beer.)
(And hey--thanks for the chance to use my arcane knowledge of Chicago area code history!)
4
This is MRS. When I lived in Chicago, the first split-off was 708. The only suburbs to keep the 312 area code were Oak Park, Evanston and Cicero. Now, where I lived, it is 630. We had all-area unit call pack service, so making suburban call to Chicago would not be a toll call back in the day. Does anyone remember what a toll call was?!!
2
It's the same all over the world; the silly things we care about…but still care about.
In Dallas, many people lament losing their "Dallas, Texas" address and replacing it with a suburb ("Richardson, Texas"). I've seen having a Dallas address mentioned on real estate listings as a selling point!
214 is "the" area code here and there are a few zip codes getting to be the same way.
I've seen stationery shops with notepads that simply say 214 at the top.
I'm going to Maine this summer and will look for a 207 bumper sticker for my car, just to confuse people.
In Dallas, many people lament losing their "Dallas, Texas" address and replacing it with a suburb ("Richardson, Texas"). I've seen having a Dallas address mentioned on real estate listings as a selling point!
214 is "the" area code here and there are a few zip codes getting to be the same way.
I've seen stationery shops with notepads that simply say 214 at the top.
I'm going to Maine this summer and will look for a 207 bumper sticker for my car, just to confuse people.
10
So now an area code is a big deal. Life imitating art, specifically the 'Seinfeld' episode in which Elaine got awfully upset at the thought of being 'downgraded' to a 646 when, as a Manhattan resident, she felt entitled to a 212. Oh, well, my old number growing up in Queens had started out as HOLlis 4544 - yes, New York City numbers in the 1920s were dialed the way London numbers were dialed up until the mid 1960s. The two-letter exchanges began in the '30s with expansion. Then again, the old jazz classic 'PEnnsylvania 6-2000' wouldn't have been as catchy with the original number: PENnsylvania 2000.
Going to all digits was inevitable, of course, but it put an end to jokes like this one about the absent-minded professor residing in one of London's far 'burbs, awakened at an odd hour by the old tinny ring. "Hello, is this EPPing 1-2-1-2? "No, this is EPPing twelve-twelve." "Sorry to have bothered you." "Oh, quite alright. I had to get up anyway to answer the phone."
Going to all digits was inevitable, of course, but it put an end to jokes like this one about the absent-minded professor residing in one of London's far 'burbs, awakened at an odd hour by the old tinny ring. "Hello, is this EPPing 1-2-1-2? "No, this is EPPing twelve-twelve." "Sorry to have bothered you." "Oh, quite alright. I had to get up anyway to answer the phone."
18
Pennsylvania6-5000
3
PEnnsylvania 6-5-Oh-Oh-Oh is what I remember hearing.
1
I also grew up with a Hollis number (468), and a Spruce number(776)—and know all the names of the local exchanges though they are long gone….
3
As someone who couldn't live further from Manhattan, I found this article fascinating. Not for the area code envy, but for the apparent fact that in the US cell phones have area codes. In a country as vast as Australia (for instance) only landlines have area codes. Cell phones have a very different configuration (being obviously cell numbers) and no area code. I can be living at the bottom of Tasmania or the top of Far North Queensland, and you couldn't ever tell from my cell phone number. I'm curious - why would the systems be so different?
7
Perhaps because the phone companies charge you extra to call a cell phone number in Australia so you need a special number for cell phones. In the US there is no additional charge, so no need to identify cell phones as being such.
4
The reason why US cell phones have area codes is probably due to the history of US cell phones.
US cell phones were originally firmly based in their local areas. Any use of the cell phone outside of its area was called "roaming" and subjected the user to several extra fees (both a per-day use fee and minute-by-minute fees). If you wanted to call a person with a cell phone, you had to know where he was located - if he was out of his area (even if still within his own area code), you had to look up (in a pamphlet from the user's cell phone company) the access code of the area where you believed the user to be, then call the user's phone, and the user would then pay extra fees for the call. Often, if you did not know exactly where the user was, you had to call several access numbers in order to find him.
Perhaps in Australia, cell phones were introduced a bit later, into a pre-planned nationwide cellular network, but that was not the case in the US, where the network was built bit by bit, starting in NY and LA, and moving slowly out from there over more than a decade.
US cell phones were originally firmly based in their local areas. Any use of the cell phone outside of its area was called "roaming" and subjected the user to several extra fees (both a per-day use fee and minute-by-minute fees). If you wanted to call a person with a cell phone, you had to know where he was located - if he was out of his area (even if still within his own area code), you had to look up (in a pamphlet from the user's cell phone company) the access code of the area where you believed the user to be, then call the user's phone, and the user would then pay extra fees for the call. Often, if you did not know exactly where the user was, you had to call several access numbers in order to find him.
Perhaps in Australia, cell phones were introduced a bit later, into a pre-planned nationwide cellular network, but that was not the case in the US, where the network was built bit by bit, starting in NY and LA, and moving slowly out from there over more than a decade.
10
Australia cell phones begin with the area codes 40 through 49. Some countries opted to give their cellphones separate area codes. Chinese cellphones carry the 13, 153, 159, 189 area codes. Japan - 80, 90. Germany - 15, 16, 17. United Kingdom 71 – 75 and 77 – 79.
The craze over 212 is sure to identify those who covet it most as New York City transplants. The entire city had the 212 area code when I was growing up. Then 718 identified a Bronx or Manhattan number. New York City natives, especially those who grew up in boroughs other than Manhattan care far less. The transplants who are so eager to be real New Yorkers will never be so until they learn that there are five boroughs and embrace the City of New York in its ethnic, gritty, poor, working class and rarified entirety.
71
I'm sorry but as a native who lived in Brooklyn until he was 12 Manhattan is the city. I had to fill out an application one time and it asked for the county of my birth which was New York County. The person was surprised because she didn't know that New York City has counties like the rest of the state. If I were to come into a fortune one day (fat chance) and wanted to move to New York I would live in Manhattan. The other boroughs are just extensions of it.
1
agreed- this is incredibly inane.
2
Correction: Then 212 identified a Bronx or Manhattan number and 718 identified Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.
3
I got lucky . I got a 212 area code 10 years ago. The number previously belonged a person who never paid a bill on time .
I got her class from bill collectors for a while
I got her class from bill collectors for a while
3
Maybe it's different because I live near D.C. rather than NYC, but once I've got someone's number on my list of contacts I never see it any more. So, any "specialness" because of a certain area code is very short-lived.
10
I notice that, right now, with 26 comments posted, none of the posters who are saying negative things about those who would wish to have a 212 area code is posting from anywhere near New York.
What's that silly saying? "If you have to ask, you wouldn't understand."
What's that silly saying? "If you have to ask, you wouldn't understand."
15
I'm 64 years old. I moved to NYC from Kansas when I was 19 to study theatre in Manhattan. There were several personal rights of passage—several goals to be achieved: A phone number listed in my name in the New York City white pages, my first solo apartment, and being cast in my first New York play. 212 was very good to me—I cherish those memories as I cherish my first answering service as an actor. The service came with a 212 area code and a PLaza prefix. DeLuxe.
33
Having a 212 area code used to identify you as a Manahttan resident, and a certain status attached automatically. (The fact that one could have been living in one of the crummier parts of the borough somehow didn't factor into the perception.) As the writer notes, among "people of a certain age" it's still a big deal today, if only because it retains - for them - the same cachet that it had decades ago. For younger people, who know full well that you could be living anywhere and have a 212 area code, I imagine that having a "vintage" number is still a bit of fun: it is, after all, a limited-edition antique.
8
Having a 212 area code used to identify one as being resident in any of the five boroughs. Then after 718, only Bronx and Manhattan had the 212 area code. Exclusivity of 212 with respect to Manhattan us relatively new.
10
When I moved away from New York City I remember feeling bad about losing my 212 number. I spent 3 years abroad and wondered how I could ever have become so provincial in New York to have cared about something so trivial.
Then I moved back to NYC and got a new phone with a 347 area code. I told the woman at the apple store who was selling me the phone that I once had a 212 area code.
"Oh yeah, my grandfather has that area code," she said, and shrugged.
Then I moved back to NYC and got a new phone with a 347 area code. I told the woman at the apple store who was selling me the phone that I once had a 212 area code.
"Oh yeah, my grandfather has that area code," she said, and shrugged.
25
Ah the good old days of Butterfield 8 being the Silk Stocking Dstrict and Buckminister 2 being Flatbush. Wannabes said Butterfield 2 to impress people who ddn't know.
17
"Some covet"? Ha! I will NEVER give up my 212 area code (which is my CELLPHONE number I might add, thank you very much)!
11
I am awaiting the advent of a 666 area code.
34
Hey! I called it first, see below. I guess you can have a number with that prefix too but only after I get one.
1
WE had MOhawk 6 in Miami. Some people hated that it was dialed as 666.
This is MRS. I already have a 666 prefix on my cell phone. I was asked if I wanted the number assigned to me because of that prefix. It's just a number, and I've had it so long, everyone who has a need to have my cell phone number knows who's calling. Yes, I still have a land line.
4
It is interesting that you can build a business selling things that don't actually belong to you.
7
Really? It's the American way!
Slaves or land west of the Appalachians, anyone?
Slaves or land west of the Appalachians, anyone?
10
Here in Alaska you can have a 907. Actually everyone can. No overlays here. As a matter of fact Alaska is still one of the very few places in the US where you can dial 7 digits and your call will go thorough.
7
I can remember only having to dial the last four numbers in calls in my exchange and five digits if there were two exchanges in your area.
1
I can dial 7 digits in Wappingers Falls, NY and the will go through (local only of course).
Have two 907 numbers, one the cell phone which I had for 12 years before leaving Alaska, and second is the old house number after parents and siblings left. Was "in the family" so to speak for 40 years so a lot of people know it. Have it forwarded to the cell. Have lived out of state now for about 7 years but most folks recognize the number as Alaska. At one time they were threatening to require all 10 digits for in state calls that were toll calls (long distance). Fortunately that was stopped.
I'm going to sell my 212 home number to the next stooge who gets off the bus from Boston. (Please folks, don't tell him how stupid and annoying it is to have 212 for your cell phone number because people think it's a business calling).
19
I'm familiar with people saying they're "from" new york, when they most definitely aren't, but this is a whole other level of lame.
33
I've always loved having a 473 area code. Nobody ever answers when I call them and I can go back to chilling out on my back porch.
21
Amazing how provincial New Yorkers can be sometimes.
11
These are transplants to NY. Natives are much more comfortable in their skin, at least the one's I know. This from a kid who was born in Forest Hills.
3
No, not "New Yorkers".......MANHATTANITES!
1
It is funny how so many Manhattanites are 'proud' of their 212 area code like it really means anything. It's just a number.
2
Hi Curmudgeon and others,
I actually grew up in Manhattan and am excited to be returning home. The phone that used to hang on the wall in the kitchen of my childhood home had a 212 number. Part of my desire to have one again is nostalgia. Call it whatever you want. Life is too short to be so grumpy about the little things that make someone else happy.
I actually grew up in Manhattan and am excited to be returning home. The phone that used to hang on the wall in the kitchen of my childhood home had a 212 number. Part of my desire to have one again is nostalgia. Call it whatever you want. Life is too short to be so grumpy about the little things that make someone else happy.
39
I remember when all of NYC phone numbers were on the 212.
10
One more comment. I never could understand why they did not just go to 8 digits in a phone numbers. it would have added millions of combinations. For example, the original New York City numbers would have become 212-0XXX-XXXX. the 917 overlay would have become 212-1XXX-XXXX, the upcoming overlay 212-2XXX-XXXX and so on. This would have resulted in 99,999,999 numbers for 212, or any area code for that matter.
8
In effect this has happened - but just with 10 digit dialing. With number porting and all the overlays, area codes as they used to exist don't really matter anymore. It's just 10 digit dialing. There may be a time in the near future where it will be 11 digit dialing, when all the overlays have been used up.
Mike's dad actually...
and the reason is that expanding the North American Numbering Plan to 8 digits would have been extremely expensive. It wouldn't have been a localized change. I was on an industry task force that studied expansion back in the day and that was the conclusion
and the reason is that expanding the North American Numbering Plan to 8 digits would have been extremely expensive. It wouldn't have been a localized change. I was on an industry task force that studied expansion back in the day and that was the conclusion
10
Tokyo expanded to 8-digit phone numbers in 1991.
London did the same in 2000.
We are falling behind...
London did the same in 2000.
We are falling behind...
1
I don't think people living in other states can ever fully understand the 212 obsession. But people in the City know that living in Manhattan (or anything indicating you live in Manhattan) is a status symbol, and a status symbol can get you some extra attention. For example, if you call any business in the City from a 212 number, it is a lot more likely to be picked up instead of going to voice mail. Superficial? Yes. But quite helpful nonetheless.
11
I've been amused by local youths, well, a lot are youths on my time scale, who have the original area code "305" tattood onto themselves.
4
The old 305 used to cover a lot of area in Florida in the old days. It went down to the Keys and up to West Palm Beach. I think we only had three for the whole state.
I have never lived in Manhattan but we've had a 212 number with a SoHo exchange in Brooklyn for 30 years. It was originally for business. Unfortunately, it's one digit off from the First Precinct, so the only callers who use it anymore are usually cabbies involved in fender-benders.
2
Area codes can be a surprising facet of one's identity. My hometown is an island across from Seattle (206), technically part of Kitsap County (360) but due to whatever circumstances that took place when various area code boundaries were drawn the island is in 'the 206'. Islanders themselves tend to associate more with Seattle than with the county, or at least they want to, and so you'll proudly see people proclaim their area code.
6
Yea , Im old enough to remember AND consider the 212 area code a bonus. Growing up in Queens , then moving to Bklyn and the 718 designation before my phone number(s) had the feel of " second class citizen " and thats over 25 yrars ago ! After reading these folks stories I guess the feeling is STILL THERE.!
5
Absolutely preposterous to covet three numbers. Anyone worth knowing will not care what a person's area code is, particularly in Manhattan.
8
I can't be the only one who smiled after seeing a comment each from Curmudgeon (NY) and Curmudgeonly (CA) juxtaposed. How appropriate that these two have chimed in on this article!
10
You would have to be some twit just moving here from elsewhere to actually BUY a 212 phone number and imagine it was a status symbol. Cell phones so rarely have 212 area codes that to me it just signals "business phone" or "grandma who still uses a landline."
59
Come to think of it, what I really want now is a personalized area code. I'd like to have 666, if it's available, it's got a certain zing to it.
15
666 - Excellent!
If nothing else, it would insulate you from sales calls originating in the South.
If nothing else, it would insulate you from sales calls originating in the South.
28
I received a 212 mobile phone number several years ago just by chance. It's actually somewhat of a problem because people think it is my home or work number rather than my mobile number. That said, I'll never give it up :-)
11
Before the advent of cell phones and FAX machines, the area code acted like a zip code.
516: Nassau/Suffolk
212: New York City
914; Westchester
201: New Jersey
203: Connecticut
And then there was 202 DC, 617 Boston, 312 Chicago, 213 LA, 214 Dallas/Ft Worth, 703 Houston and so on.
Out here 303 was all of Colorado, and 307 Still covers all of Wyoming. Probably the only state still with one area code.
Then again, I am old enough to remember the two letter exchanges.
Old Gimbel's commercials MU7-7500 (MUrray Hill)
The odd days of the dial phone, basic Ma Bell Black. Of course, if you remember the 1964-65 New York World's Fair, New York telephone had pushbutton telephones on display. My things have changed in 50 years, since I was 10.
516: Nassau/Suffolk
212: New York City
914; Westchester
201: New Jersey
203: Connecticut
And then there was 202 DC, 617 Boston, 312 Chicago, 213 LA, 214 Dallas/Ft Worth, 703 Houston and so on.
Out here 303 was all of Colorado, and 307 Still covers all of Wyoming. Probably the only state still with one area code.
Then again, I am old enough to remember the two letter exchanges.
Old Gimbel's commercials MU7-7500 (MUrray Hill)
The odd days of the dial phone, basic Ma Bell Black. Of course, if you remember the 1964-65 New York World's Fair, New York telephone had pushbutton telephones on display. My things have changed in 50 years, since I was 10.
30
New Hampshire has only the 603 area code.
BUtterfield 8, the John O'Hara novel.
PEnnsyvlania 6-5000, the Pennsylvania Hotel and a Glenn Miller hit.
Idaho still has its statewide 208 code.
PEnnsyvlania 6-5000, the Pennsylvania Hotel and a Glenn Miller hit.
Idaho still has its statewide 208 code.
5
"Probably the only state still with one area code."
Vermont: 802
Hew Hampshire: 603
Maine: 207
It's a similar status symbol up here, where we can still dial seven digits and be connected (as an old New Yorker, I remember how furious many were that they had to dial eleven digits to call another borough).
There are bumper stickers here that just say "207." 'Nuff said.
Vermont: 802
Hew Hampshire: 603
Maine: 207
It's a similar status symbol up here, where we can still dial seven digits and be connected (as an old New Yorker, I remember how furious many were that they had to dial eleven digits to call another borough).
There are bumper stickers here that just say "207." 'Nuff said.
5
Almost no one remembers when 212 was exclusively Manhattan's zip code, and of those people, even fewer care. I can't believe anyone still attaches any attachment to a phone number whose beginning numbers have about as much cachet as BUtterfield 8 or PLaza 6.
5
HK guy, yep, almost no one remembers when 212 was Manhattan's zip code. First, it isn't a zip code. Second, many of us remember when it was the area code for all of NYC.
And New Yorks over 60 still do care about the beginning numbers. It was an indication of where you lived and thus told people something about you.
And New Yorks over 60 still do care about the beginning numbers. It was an indication of where you lived and thus told people something about you.
22
The only area code worth coveting is 415.
15
In the Puget Sound area, it was 206. Eventually, 206 was down to mostly Seattle and Tacoma. Tacoma was then given 253. They didn't like it, say, for several months. Then it just didn't make any difference anymore.
Probably, because it doesn't make any difference.
Probably, because it doesn't make any difference.
16
Might be because it's Seattle. Tough to get worked up about minor things when it rains nearly every day, it's like being waterboarded by nature all the time, tough to focus on other stuff.
7
I work for a business Telco in Manhattan.
When we have a new or expanding customer, we draw upon a stash of 212 numbers that we have banked, as most companies still prefer 212.
Tim Hunter
Channel Manager
Telco Experts
When we have a new or expanding customer, we draw upon a stash of 212 numbers that we have banked, as most companies still prefer 212.
Tim Hunter
Channel Manager
Telco Experts
4
Tim, your customers are simple-minded status seekers. Go on banking in ridiculousness, boy-O.
4
Businesses locate in Manhattan for a reason.
Jersey City, or Long Island City are nice, but if a company is in NYC there is a tangible benefit for their customers to know it. Why is the NY Times in Manhattan. There is a reason. To chalk it up to snobbery is snarky, and/or shows no understanding of business!
Jersey City, or Long Island City are nice, but if a company is in NYC there is a tangible benefit for their customers to know it. Why is the NY Times in Manhattan. There is a reason. To chalk it up to snobbery is snarky, and/or shows no understanding of business!
16
You used to be able to tell a business from the numbers. The big ones ended with #000 or ##50.
1
I grew up when long-distance phone calls were a thing too...and getting worked up about your area code as a status symbol is one of the silliest things I have heard of in quite a while.
36
Seriously? Cannot think of anything more shallow. Area code snobs. Nothing more important to think about?
65
Chalk it up to human nature. I remember hearing from a member of my family back in the 90s that the residents of Belmont, MA (yes, that of Romney fame) were in an absolute twist over the notion that they would have their area codes switched from 617 to (the apparently more pedestrian, in their view) 781. After much frothing and fuming the powers that be decided in favor of the pro 617 agitators and for that time, all was well. (Not sure what it is now).
1
I agree completely. It is just MORE horrible evidence of what NY has become--We are overrun w/ tourist and affluent BORING people who want to live the NYC marketers dream. Just awful.
4
Agreed!
This is new the demographic of post-Bloomberg NYC. Does anyone doubt that these people represent the loss of NYC's soul?
This is new the demographic of post-Bloomberg NYC. Does anyone doubt that these people represent the loss of NYC's soul?
5
As for me, I long for the days when I could just dial (by spinning a little wheel with my finger, of all things) a number without 212 or 718, just the 7 digits within the same area code. I know, those days will never come again, but they were nice.
I actually have a 212 and a 917 number and use them somewhat interchangeably, but the 212 one does seem to be higher status because it gets a lot more random calls from people seeking money (charities, politicians, etc.). Folks maybe assume since I own a 212, I must be rolling in dough or whatever the current saying is (bathing in bitcoins?). And I'm going to hang onto that 212 grimly, as my connection to the days of my youth when it was so normal we didn't even have to dial it.
One minor note, that calculation as to how many numbers there are in each area code, I think it might be off by a bit. Numbers cannot start with 0 or 1, so the total should drop by 1/5 unless that was accounted for.
I actually have a 212 and a 917 number and use them somewhat interchangeably, but the 212 one does seem to be higher status because it gets a lot more random calls from people seeking money (charities, politicians, etc.). Folks maybe assume since I own a 212, I must be rolling in dough or whatever the current saying is (bathing in bitcoins?). And I'm going to hang onto that 212 grimly, as my connection to the days of my youth when it was so normal we didn't even have to dial it.
One minor note, that calculation as to how many numbers there are in each area code, I think it might be off by a bit. Numbers cannot start with 0 or 1, so the total should drop by 1/5 unless that was accounted for.
9
Your comment that phone numbers can't start with a 0 or 1 makes me wonder why this is so. I think it has something to do with the way the U.S. phone system was set up in its early years and that those numbers were reserved for specific purposes. I lived in Mexico just a few years ago and can tell you that many local numbers there begin with a 1, so it appears Telmex is not limited by this convention. Are there any retired Ma Bell personnel reading this who know the reason?
2
Good question Charles. From what I know, 0 was reserved for the Operator, which was an actual person who would connect your call. So in the old days when you hit 0 first, it would immediately dial the operator. Likewise, 1 is reserved for starting a long distance number (or any other area code), so it couldn't be used like 183-2981, because the phone would wait for more digits.
Brings something else to mind, no number can start with 911, because that will immediately dial the emergency operator. That's only 1/1000th of the numbers though.
Brings something else to mind, no number can start with 911, because that will immediately dial the emergency operator. That's only 1/1000th of the numbers though.
3
zero was designed to get the operator, so any other numbers were ignored. And "1" was the signal to expect an area code to follow, rather than only seven digits. I.e. "dial 1" for long distance.
Next, the original switched expected area codes to be in a particular format. Particularly, the middle digit needed to be a "1" or a "0". Think 212 for NY, 313 for Detroit, etc. In addition, the reason NYC got "212" is because it was the biggest city. So on average, there were more people calling into NYC than other cities. On a rotary phone, "212" is the quickest way to dial. Think of how long it would take to dial "909" on a rotary phone. So the "lowest" number combinations went to the biggest cities. "313" went to Detroit many years ago, because at one point it was the second or third largest city in the country (but no more).
Next, the original switched expected area codes to be in a particular format. Particularly, the middle digit needed to be a "1" or a "0". Think 212 for NY, 313 for Detroit, etc. In addition, the reason NYC got "212" is because it was the biggest city. So on average, there were more people calling into NYC than other cities. On a rotary phone, "212" is the quickest way to dial. Think of how long it would take to dial "909" on a rotary phone. So the "lowest" number combinations went to the biggest cities. "313" went to Detroit many years ago, because at one point it was the second or third largest city in the country (but no more).
5
It's difficult to imagine caring about something like this, or finding it important.
48
Puzzling too that people that didn't care about it, nor find it important, would feel compelled to read about it and then comment upon it. But then, people are always puzzling.
27
Or worse yet, taking the time to write a comment on it. (I know, I did it too)
9
The article seems to have hit a nerve -- among people without 212 numbers. :-)
4
As long as you have the 212 that conquers
(apologies to Ira G.)