ST. LOUIS — Our Vintage KSDK goes back 69 years to the day long distance calling took a huge leap forward.
On April 16, 1955, St. Louis Mayor Raymond Tucker placed a call to the mayor of San Francisco.
Crowded around him at the Southwestern Bell operator calling center on Olive Street downtown were the company’s leaders and local media.
"Long distance? I'm calling San Francisco. The number's market 10163,” said Tucker.
Tucker showcased how a new $8 million upgrade would speed up the time it took to place a long-distance phone call.
Laughter broke out when the conversation, being recorded by the news media, was abruptly cut short by a secretary in San Francisco.
“Hello? May I speak to mayor?” asked Tucker. “This is the mayor in St. Louis.”
“One moment please,” the secretary replied, putting Tucker on hold.
That call took less than 30 seconds, marking a major technological advance.
Other operator calling centers around the country would still help route national long-distance calls. But the investment in the St. Louis placed our city at the center of telecommunications innovation.
"This center here and the equipment in this room and elsewhere in the building is destined to be the hub of the long-distance dialing in the nation,” said a Southwestern Bell dignitary that day.