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Alexandria, Virginia, 1925. "Ford Motor Co. -- Banner Laundry truck." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.
607 Cameron Street, Alexandria.
[The residence of one Dr. Fairfax, also seen here. And kudos for correcting the previous correction. - Dave]
How was I supposed to know you had another image of the shutter up your sleeve that showed they were bifolds? Seems almost unfair! j/k
A search of the District of Columbia city directory reveals no 3 digit telephone numbers. They were using 4 digits with a central office name. Among the names were POtomac, MAin and FRanklin. Each central office supported 10,000 lines.
Additionally, there is no Banner Laundry (although a plethora of Chinese laundries). This is most likely a promotional photo from Ford Motor Company.
[Banner Laundry had locations in Alexandria and Washington, whose metro area includes the Maryland and Virginia suburbs in Montgomery and Arlington counties. The photo, as indicated by the caption, was made by the National Photo Company of Washington. - Dave]
Those shutters on the second-floor window above the front door really look out of place and are designed very differently from the working ones on the other windows. Perhaps the homeowner had an early Home Depot moment and decided to have some non-functional ones installed after the fact for looks. Then as now, a mistake in judgment.
[Or perhaps it's you who are mistaken! The bifold shutters, seen here in another view, cover the entire window. - Dave]
In 1925 it took only three digits to phone out in DC, and dialing calling probably needed the assistance of an operator who would greet you with "Number, please." While today's land line phones, cell phones and other devices involve 10 digits, we certainly don't miss the old party lines of the 1920s where our privacy was never certain.
Phone 203. But first you had to tell the operator to connect you.
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