What the heck do these placards mean?
February 26, 2010 12:12 PM Subscribe
Los Angeles filter: I saw these placards on utility poles, opposite sides of town (first is in Highland Park, n. of downtown. Second is in Lomita, near the beach.) I'm sure there are more of them - but what in heck are they?
Highland Park / Lomita
Response by poster: @huronbob
Nope, not street names; I thought they might be school bus signs - but Cosmic? If only we did have a Cosmic street/school here…(we have semi-cosmic - and I don't necessarily mean that in a good way, all the time - people here…)
posted by soulbarn at 12:25 PM on February 26, 2010
Nope, not street names; I thought they might be school bus signs - but Cosmic? If only we did have a Cosmic street/school here…(we have semi-cosmic - and I don't necessarily mean that in a good way, all the time - people here…)
posted by soulbarn at 12:25 PM on February 26, 2010
I was thinking the signs look old enough to be Exchange Names but the few names I looked at on this list weren't on there. That's assuming they're ATT->Pacific Telephone->PacBell->SBC->ATT poles.
posted by birdherder at 12:33 PM on February 26, 2010
posted by birdherder at 12:33 PM on February 26, 2010
This list is the nationwide and a few of those names do appear on the list. Eagle Rock and Cosmic aren't, but it is pretty close.
posted by birdherder at 12:37 PM on February 26, 2010
posted by birdherder at 12:37 PM on February 26, 2010
Could they be electric lines and the names of substations?
posted by buggzzee23 at 12:39 PM on February 26, 2010
posted by buggzzee23 at 12:39 PM on February 26, 2010
Gotta be Ma Bell area names
posted by Damn That Television at 12:43 PM on February 26, 2010
posted by Damn That Television at 12:43 PM on February 26, 2010
On preview: what birdherder sez
posted by Damn That Television at 12:44 PM on February 26, 2010
posted by Damn That Television at 12:44 PM on February 26, 2010
Response by poster: Telephone exchanges - great idea. I think maybe not, though: the GARFIELD exchange, for example, according to the list @huronbob supplied, would have been in Long Beach - but the sign for that one was in Highland Park, over 30 miles away…
But dang, that was a promising guess.
I was thinking maybe water main names, but couldn't find any verification.
posted by soulbarn at 12:45 PM on February 26, 2010
But dang, that was a promising guess.
I was thinking maybe water main names, but couldn't find any verification.
posted by soulbarn at 12:45 PM on February 26, 2010
Best answer: From this PDF it looks like they're all names of electric stations or regions or something along those lines.
posted by hattifattener at 12:49 PM on February 26, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by hattifattener at 12:49 PM on February 26, 2010 [2 favorites]
soulbarn, the list huronbob linked said they were suggested. anyway, I had a couple old western electric bell phones that had the exchange and number spelled out in the dial center cap and they were not the same exchange names listed there, although they were valid exchange names.
short version - it still could be.
posted by toodleydoodley at 12:51 PM on February 26, 2010
short version - it still could be.
posted by toodleydoodley at 12:51 PM on February 26, 2010
Response by poster: @hattifattener: looks like you've got the bingo. That chart lists Yukon, Eagle Rock, Cosmic, Wabash, and the locations line up. Couldn’t find Garfield or Howard, but the chart is pretty busy. THANKS@
posted by soulbarn at 1:17 PM on February 26, 2010
posted by soulbarn at 1:17 PM on February 26, 2010
soulbarn, not sure why you marked your own commentary re: previous guesses as a best answer, but I assume you meant to mark hattifattener's comment instead, might want to correct that.
posted by davejay at 1:48 PM on February 26, 2010
posted by davejay at 1:48 PM on February 26, 2010
Response by poster: Oops. I didn't mean to boost my own comment as best. Really. Thanks for pointing it out. I meant to credit hattifattener.
posted by soulbarn at 1:51 PM on February 26, 2010
posted by soulbarn at 1:51 PM on February 26, 2010
All my life I've been under the impression that they were left over from the Pacific Electric train lines, which I am a teensy bit too young to have experienced firsthand. Thank you, hattifattener, for providing me with yet another bit of trivia with which to prove my friends wrong :)
posted by chez shoes at 3:04 PM on February 26, 2010
posted by chez shoes at 3:04 PM on February 26, 2010
Yeah, I've seen labels like those on various big high-voltage electricity poles — I think I even saw a set in Eagle Rock, on the row of tall concrete utility poles next to the Eagle Rock itself (and next to the freeway onramp).
I figure that these labels help hint to workers which regions that the pole's electric lines serve. But a pole I saw in Santa Barbara County has a label that includes "Vegas", which seems kind of far away to have anything to do with Goleta. Seems like the names go from closer places on top to farther-away places on bottom, anyway.
posted by dreamyshade at 4:31 PM on February 26, 2010
I figure that these labels help hint to workers which regions that the pole's electric lines serve. But a pole I saw in Santa Barbara County has a label that includes "Vegas", which seems kind of far away to have anything to do with Goleta. Seems like the names go from closer places on top to farther-away places on bottom, anyway.
posted by dreamyshade at 4:31 PM on February 26, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by HuronBob at 12:14 PM on February 26, 2010