Doing some late night noodling in Google Street View, I happened upon this ad, painted directly onto the building bricks on St. Johns Place just east of Troy Avenue for Cardinal Realty, which is a couple of miles away at 531 Nostrand Avenue, just south of Atlantic. By 2018, that site was occupied by “#1 Hip Hop and Sportswear.” I’d imagine Cardinal, which offered auto insurance at “small monthly payments” is long gone now.
Its phone number, NE 8-9000, is prominent. NE could be NEptune, NEwton, NEwtown (the latter, I imagine, was used in Elmhurst, Queens, formerly Newtown. Or it could be none of those…I’m sure someone will fill me in in Comments.
Check out the ForgottenBook, take a look at the gift shop, and as always, “comment…as you see fit.”
4/17/20
5 comments
Pretty sure it was Nevins. Looking to verify tgat
My investigation indicates that the NE exchange was NEvins.
Your longtime friend and contributor Gary confirms it’s Nevins: https://forgotten-ny.com/2008/02/running-the-numbers-nyc-telephone-exchanges/ and https://forgotten-ny.com/2008/02/running-the-numbers-part-2-more-nyc-telephone-exchanges/
Yes, it was NEvins, my own exchange more than a few years ago. The NE 8 numbers were changed to INgersoll 7 at some time in the early 50’s, probably ’52 or ’53. The last 4 digits were retained. I can recall that my folks were not too pleased with the change.
The NEvins exchange was common in ParkSlope and downtown after the 60s. Cardinal Realty (I remembered it as Cardinale) was there at least through the 70s, maybe into the 80s. They had one of those clock towers in front of the store next to the curb which may have outlived the bus8ness by a bit.