Photo by Jefferson Siegel
Jefferson Siegel sends along this photo of one of New York's hardiest historical survivors: telephone company manhole covers. They offer glimpses into phone-company history. Above, enjoy the pre-1969 Bell logo, as found in Cadman Plaza West in Brooklyn. Designer Saul Bass cleaned up that logo with the modernist one you see at left, which Verizon still uses on pay phones, hard hats and trucks.
As Jefferson points out, it's been 23 years since the dissolution of Ma Bell -- the original AT&T and its local phone companies. Its descendants are still in our midst, with AT&T (which is really SBC with Ma Bell's name) and Verizon (nee Bell Atlantic, Nynex and New York Telephone.)
Click here for a little New York Telephone history, as told through, of all things, a rusty utility cart we ran into earlier this year.
-- Rolando Pujol