The Well-telephoned Town
by Bob Foreman © 2014
Before cordless, cell or smart phones, in Atlanta there was only one “service provider,” namely Southern Bell, the benevolent monopoly which was part of the nationwide Bell System. All telephones were connected to wires, and phones were leased, not purchased. Service failure never happened, the cost was reasonable, and operators were paid to be friendly.
The first telephone office or exchange was constructed in 1879 on the top floor of the Kimball House, where the operators were teenage boys, and nothing was automatic. When one lifted the receiver, a boy would ask, “Number, please?” In the beginning there were no phone numbers however, and one asked for the other party by name. For twenty tangled years, the Atlanta Telephone Company competed with Southern Bell for subscribers, and doctors and businesses were required to have two telephones on their desk.
In 1929 modern telegraphy hit its stride with the completion of the striking art deco Bell telephone office at 51 Ivy Street, designed by architect Ollivier J. Vinour whose Fox Theatre opened that year as well. Phones with dials that connected to automatic exchanges began to proliferate, and telephone numbers ran six digits, beginning with two letters to denote the exchange, followed by four numbers. For example dialing HEmlock 0500 would ring up John Smith Chevrolet on West Peachtree.
Exchange names included CHerokee which served Buckhead, HEmlock or VErnon for midtown, RAymond for the West End, and MAin, JAckson, or CYpress for downtown. In the Lakewood area, the exchange name “Fillmore” was introduced, but quickly replaced by “Dixie” following protests that former President Millard Fillmore had been a unionist.
Long distance was a great deal more arduous than nowadays, for in order to gain a connection, the operator had to locate an open circuit to the city desired, such as New York, to which there were but seven long lines from Atlanta in 1929. The operator would take one’s information and call back later if and when the party was reached. Coast-to-coast calls might require as many as eight operators.
In the mid-1950’s, Southern Bell effected the transition to today’s seven digit standard, with a numeric suffix added to each exchange name. The telephone number CHerokee 6000 became CEdar 3-6000, the VErnon exchange became TRinity 2, MAin became MUrray 8 and so forth.
The 1956 telephone directory ran 1100 pages, including the not-yet-yellow classified section which ended with zippers and began with “abattoir,” the nice word for slaughterhouse of which there were many. Entries now arcane included Beauty Parlors, Dairies which delivered, Dancing Schools, and Hatters.
Apostrophic names were the rule: retail stores Jim Salle’s (records), Miller’s (books) and Rich’s (“Penelope Pen Personal Shopper”), and restaurants Emil’s, Hart’s, Escoe’s, Biuoso’s, and Mammy’s Shanty evoke a town of mom and pop. In those days, even the phone company had a number: MUrray 5-8600. And JAckson 2-8550 would bring you the dulcet tones of WSB’s Don Elliott Heald with the Time of Day.
Promotional ads encouraged households with one telephone to lease an additional “extension” phone, and extension sets in color were recommended so that one could “enjoy the convenience, comfort and prestige of a well-telephoned home.”
1960 brought DDD (direct distance dialing) and ANC (all number calling). Thus CEdar 3-6000 became merely (404) 233-6000, and an era was closed perhaps forever.
For a more complete account, Let Your fingers Do the Walking to Will Cardell’s excellent website “Atlanta telephone history.”
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