Here’s a painted ad I hadn’t noticed before on Merrick Boulevard between the Long Island Rail Road overpass and Douglas Avenue for what was apparently the Jamaica Soda Fountain Fixture Company. Notice the unusual rhomboid shape — the sign painter had to fit it with the space (s)he had to work with.
The JA phone exchange is easy to figure out — I’m 99.44 % convinced it stood for JAmaica.
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12/18/18
3 comments
I came across a NYT headline from 1940 about a “fountain-fixtures” company moving to a new plant on what was then called Merrick Road. Naturally enough the full text was available to subscribers only. Almost certainly it’s the same company, and the painted ad dates from that time.
What’s somewhat odd is that despite searching carefully I wasn’t able to find any later references to the company. State corporation records or other official sources probably would have more information, but I don’t really have the inclination or time to go digging through them. It’s a reasonable assumption that Jamaica Fountain Fixture Company is long gone.
Online databases show that (718) JA(52)6-2814 is now a landline residential phone in South Ozone Park. I wonder if the owner ever gets calls from people who’ve see the sign?
yes JAmaica 6. Today still in business as 526 (in 718 area code). No area codes needed on the old signs – anything in the 5 boroughs was 212 until around 1984, when 718 was introduced in Queens (and Brooklyn – Staten Island).
Yes, growing up in Jamaica Estates in the 1950’s through 1963, we had a JA-3 exchange