WHILE scuttling through Carroll Gardens en route to Red Hook in August 2024, I noticed this old school sign on Court Street off Luquer, for Battery Car Service. It seems to be the exact opposite of the adjoining sign for 486 Plant, next door. I say this because when you look at “Battery Car Service” you know just what you’re getting. “486 Plant” could be a plant or garden store. Instead, it’s an art gallery that seemingly pays homage to its predecessor tenant which had been a garden store.
I’ve often been down Court Street before and I wondered why I hadn’t seen this aged sign. That’s because for several years it was beneath a sign for Two Silhouettes On The Shade, a collectibles place. The old sign was revealed again just recently. I liked its simplicity, black handpainted letters on a white background.
Some elements on the sign perplex me, though. Phone numbers are prominent on car service signs, but what is that “3” after the number, 858-4444? The sign was painted before there were multiple area codes, and you didn’t need to dial it before the number. But what’s the “3” for?
Also, what is that smaller number on the right side? BAGE B00060. Comments, as always, are open.
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8/27/24
11 comments
The .3 means alternate tel no. 858-4443. Not sure what Bage # stands for. Maybe call sign?
The ,3 means you could dial 4444 or if it was busy 4443. No “your call is important to us” telephone hell for Battery. Probably 2 old black dial phones on a battered desk. Life before Uber.
After you dial the first number you then dial extension 3.
But dont bother now,the jernt is out of business
Because it was
858-4444 (the more memorable)
or
858-4443
Could it possibly be PAGE not BAGE, and a pager number, for those of us old enough to remember pagers?
It’s BASE 00060. The car service’s TLC base ID number.
As for the phone number, it seems to indicate a second phone number for arranging service, 858-4443.
They had two telephone lines; 858-4444 and 858-4443.
This comment doesn’t relate to the Car Battery Service sign. It’s a recommendation of a novel that I’m reading at the moment:
https://michaelsears.com/product/tower-of-babel
I found it at the Pinal County Library branch in San Tan Valley, AZ., where I live. It’s a neo-noir tale set in contemporary Queens, but so far, it’s not in the same league as Raymond Chandler’s “Farewell, My Lovely”. “Try it, you’ll like it”.
This sign is clearly visible on Street View. Zooming in it is BA6E then below it is B00060. Could be CB Radio call sign.
It is BASE, as in a NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) license base station. A base is an entity licensed for dispatching for-hire vehicles. The numbers are the license number issued by the TLC for that Base/Car Service.