A recent building teardown at 43rd Avenue and Hunter Street has revealed this decades-old wall ghost. The ST in the exchange stands for STillwell, STerling or STagg, I’m unsure which. There’s some evidence of a palimpsest, or one ad painted on top of an older one.
The shop is still in business, per Comments.
8/5/14
5 comments
Another option to consider: Growing up in Ravenswood, Queens during the 1950’s our phone exchange was STillwell 6 – and we had a “party line” connection!
The ST is more than likely for Stillwell, which was an exchange back in the day in the LIC area.
Industrial Sheet Metal Products is still in business at 41-25 Hunter St. The phone exchange might be STIllwell (784), which covered Hunters Point.
Maybe STillwell?
Definitely “Stillwell”. I am the third generation in a family business that has been in Long Island City since the 1930’s. We still have the same number, STillwell 4-6666, although we have long used only numbers, 784-6666.