New York used to have only one area, which was 212, until 1984.

Today, California has well over 30 area codes. Over the years, area codes expanded and became more complex. Eventually they had no choice but to adopt the new numbering system. People didn’t embrace the change quickly because they were used to the old way of doing things. The all number system was created to simplify things. Automatic dialing was the answer to stop the dependency on operators. A system that didn’t require people was needed. Since phone networking was growing fast, it wasn’t possible to hire a lot of staff fast. Things evolved gradually and in 1955, a list of exchange names was given that had standardized abbreviations consisting of a few letters and numbers. Leslie Denning to Frank Osborn, the mayor of Alameda, California. On November 10, 1951, the first long distance, direct call was made by Englewood Mayor M. Area codes were given as routing codes to operators in 1947. The executives at the Bell System introduced a new way of dialing the phone that was more efficient.

The system changed in the mid-20th century when the United States telephone network grew. Consequently, emphasis was on minimizing the risks and coming up with a new and more sophisticated system. With spoken phone directions there was always the risk of misunderstanding the number. They were named after the particular phone exchange of an area. At the time, phone numbers were made up of numbers and letters, more like an alphanumeric address.

Mostly women worked as operators and directed calls to the desired destinations. In the beginning the phone system was dependent on human operators.

Phone number 301 area code