

Map of Bell Systems Telephone Network (1910) - ForHackernews
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_vault/2015/03/16/history_of_the_american_telephone_system_map_of_bell_coverage_in_1910.html

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thomasjames
If anyone is interested in the history of long-distance telephony in the US,
the PBS documentary "Transistorized!"
([http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0381663/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0381663/))
([https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA97634694AC92A93](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA97634694AC92A93))
has a great explanation into Bell Labs' long-standing interest in the
transistor going back to the use of vacuum tubes in signal amplification on
the long stretches of telephone cable. The documentary is also really cool
since it shows you the inner lives of Shockley, Brattain and Bardeen leading
up to the discovery.

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jsm386
Here are a couple more interesting historical maps from Bell, specifically
from The Bell System Technical Journal in 1930.

The first shows "special contract telegraph circuits furnished to a brokerage
company" (30 circuits / 95 stations / 38K km):
[http://i.imgur.com/vL4W8Vz.jpg](http://i.imgur.com/vL4W8Vz.jpg)

The second shows "special contract telegraph service furnished a press
association" (53 circuits / 124K km) :
[http://i.imgur.com/ZEsBKKe.jpg](http://i.imgur.com/ZEsBKKe.jpg)

Lots more fun maps and diagrams @
[https://archive.org/stream/bellvol9systemtechni00amerrich/be...](https://archive.org/stream/bellvol9systemtechni00amerrich/bellvol9systemtechni00amerrich#page/n4/mode/1up)

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Stratoscope
They even served Tesla, here in California!

Click the map to load the hi-res version, then zoom in on the San Francisco-
Oakland area, and look below the Oakland label.

Background:
[http://www.teslacoalmines.org/Tesla.html](http://www.teslacoalmines.org/Tesla.html)

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pnevares
I was surprised to see Las Vegas as such a tiny blip, before remembering its
history is still very recent. Founded in 1905, incorporated in 1911 (and was
still decades away from its boom).

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Vegas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Vegas)

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bkeroack
Las Vegas as a city wasn't really feasible until after the completion of the
Hoover Dam and Lake Mead in 1936 about 30 miles away. You can't have a city
without water.

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brudgers
No calling Miami on Bell's network in 1910.

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cbd1984
The Florida land boom was in the 1920s. The Marx Brothers made a comedy about
it: _The Cocoanuts_ (1929), their first full-length film.

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brudgers
An earlier boom in the 1880's was fuelled by the citrus industry and ended
with the freezes of 1894/5\. Tourism also played a role to such a degree that
Roosevelt's Rough Riders were quartered at the Tamap Bay Hotel prior to the
invasion of Cuba. That boom is what gave enough population density to run
service as far down as places like Conway [or Orlando itself] by 1910.

The _The Coconuts_ boom ended with the onset of the Great Depression...at
least for those who believe it soft started with events like the Florida land
crash and the Boll Weevil infestation across the South. Two post WWII booms
were triggered by the wide spread availability of residential air conditioning
and mortgage derivatives respectively.

[https://www.floridamemory.com/photographiccollection/photo_e...](https://www.floridamemory.com/photographiccollection/photo_exhibits/citrus/citrus2.php)

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dredmorbius
John Kenneth Galbraith includes a good discussion of the Florida land rush in
his book _The Great Crash: 1929_.

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Scoundreller
Can I guess that a 1910 telephone map perfectly overlaps on top of a 1910
railway map?

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ForHackernews
I imagine the 1910 railway network would be much more extensive:
[http://cprr.org/Museum/Official_Rail_Guide_1910.html](http://cprr.org/Museum/Official_Rail_Guide_1910.html)

