July 1, 1963: ZIP Codes Take Effect

July 1, 1963: ZIP Codes come into use. 

Most towns weren't big enough to need more than one postal zone. For those that were, there were simple numbers, one or two digits, starting in 1943. For example: From the time he was born in 1943 until he went off to war in 1965, my father lived in the Forest Hill Section of the North Ward of Newark. People living in the North Ward would write their addresses as "Newark 4, New Jersey." With ZIP Codes, it became "Newark, NJ 07104." Note that the 4 became the last digit. An address of "New York 17, NY" became "New York, NY 10017."

The Zone Improvement Plan created regional zones, as follows:

000-005 Not In Use

006, 007 and 009 Puerto Rico

008 U.S. Virgin Islands

010-014 Western Massachusetts

015-026 Eastern Massachusetts

027-029 Rhode Island

03 New Hampshire

04 Maine

05 Vermont

06 Connecticut

07 Northern New Jersey

08 Southern New Jersey

09 U.S. Military Bases in in Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East

100, 101 and 102 New York City, Manhattan

103 New York City, Staten Island

104 New York City, The Bronx

105-108 New York State, Westchester County

109 New York State, Rockland County

110 New York State, Long Island, Floral Park

111 New York City, Queens, Long Island City

112 New York City, Brooklyn

113 New York City, Queens, Flushing

114 New York City, Queens, Jamaica

115 New York State, Long Island, Mineola

116 New York City, Queens, Far Rockaway

117-119 New York State, Long Island, Suffolk County

12 Upstate New York

13 Central New York

14 Western New York

150-165 Western Pennsylvania

166-176 Central Pennsylvania

177-189 Eastern Pennsylvania outside Philadelphia

190-192 Philadelphia

193-196 Philadelphia Western Suburbs

197-199 Delaware

200, 202-205 Washington, D.C.

201 Virginia, Dulles International Airport

206-209 Maryland, Washington side

210-219 Maryland, Baltimore side

220-238 Virginia

247-269 West Virginia

27-28 North Carolina

29 South Carolina

30-31 Georgia

32-34 Florida

35-36 Alabama

370-385 Tennessee

386-399 Mississippi

40-42 Kentucky

43-45 Ohio

46-47 Indiana

48-49 Michigan

50-52 Iowa

53-54 Wisconsin

55-56 Minnesota

58 North Dakota

59 Montana

60-62 Illinois

63-65 Missouri

66-67 Kansas

68-69 Nebraska

700-715 Louisiana

716-729 Arkansas

73-74 Oklahoma

75 Texas, Dallas-Forth Worth Metroplex

76 Texas, rest of North

77 Texas, Houston area

78 Texas, San Antonio area

79 Texas, West

80-81 Colorado

820-831 Wyoming

832-839 Idaho

84 Utah

85-86 Arizona

870-888 New Mexico

889-899 Nevada

900-918 California, Los Angeles area

92 California, San Diego area

93 California, Central

940-951 California, San Francisco Bay Area

952-961 California, Northern

962-966 U.S. Military bases in Far East and Antarctica

967-968 Hawaii

969 Guam

97 Oregon

980-994 Washington State

995-999 Alaska

Outside cities, ZIP Codes were arranged alphabetically. For example, I grew up in East Brunswick, in Central New Jersey. Our ZIP Code was, and remains, 08816. A town neighboring us both geographically and alphabetically, Edison, had 08817, 08818 and 08820, with 08819 available for overspill. (So far, despite Edison's huge growth, it hasn't been needed.) Oddly, they also use 08837. 

Other neighboring towns fulfilled this, with some a little off: The Dayton section of South Brunswick is 08810, the Franklin Park section of Franklin is 08823, the Kendall Park section of South Brunswick is 08824, Helmetta is 08828, Jamesburg and Monroe are 08831, Metuchen is 08840, Milltown is 08850, the Monmouth Junction section of South Brunswick is 08852, Piscataway is 08854 (a slight outlier), most of Old Bridge is 08857 (some of it uses the South Amboy post office, some of it the Matawan office), the Parlin section of Sayreville is 08859, Perth Amboy is 08861, the rest of Sayreville is 08872, the Somerset section of Franklin is 08873, South Amboy is 08879, South River is 08882, and Spotswood is 08884.

New Brunswick is 08901, North Brunswick is 08902, Rutgers University (in New Brunswick and Piscataway) is 08903, and Highland Park has the State's highest-numbered ZIP Code, 08904.

An ad in a comic book of 1963 explained it this way:

In 1984, "ZIP + 4" was introduced, leading to 9-digit ZIP Codes. The house I grew up in, in East Brunswick, New Jersey, had the Code of 08816. From 1984 until we moved out in 1991, it became 08816-4307. (Don't mail anything to that ZIP Code now, please. Whoever has it now would not appreciate it. It might not even be used for the same house.)

In 1990, Fox premiered the TV Show Beverly Hills 90210, guaranteeing that America's young people would know at least one ZIP Code -- hopefully, two, counting their own.

Of all the changes that happened in America in the 1960s, and particularly during the Administration of President John F. Kennedy, two that were huge parts of our culture, but are rarely talked about now, are the institutions of Area and ZIP Codes.

*

July 1, 1963 was a Monday. It was the off-season for the NFL, the AFL, the NBA and the NHL. Since Monday is usually a travel day in Major League Baseball, not everybody was scheduled to play: 

* The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 7-5 at the old Yankee Stadium. ZIP Code 10451. Fenway Park in Boston is 02215. Jim Bouton didn't have it that day, but Stan Williams and some timely hitting bailed him out. Clete Boyer hit a home run. Mickey Mantle was injured, and didn't play.

* A doubleheader was split at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia, 19132. The Pittsburgh Pirates, who played at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, 15260, won the opener, 2-1. The Philadelphia Phillies won the nightcap, 8-1. (The South Philadelphia sports complex is 19148.)

* The Kansas City Athletics beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-4 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. (21218. Camden Yards is 21201. Kansas City Municipal Stadium was 64127, and Kauffman Stadium is 64129.)

* The Houston Colt .45s beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-3 at Colt Stadium in Houston. (77054. The Astrodome uses the same ZIP Code. Minute Maid Park is 77002. In St. Louis, Busch Stadium, formerly Sportsman's Park, was 63107. The Busch Stadium built in 1966 and the one built in 2006 both used 63102.) Rusty Staub singled home the winning run in the 11th inning, for the team that became the Houston Astros 2 years later.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Milwaukee Braves, 2-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. (90012. Milwaukee County Stadium, and its replacement American Family Field, have been 53214.) Wally Moon won it with a single in the bottom of the 9th. Johnny Podres went the distance for the win. Hank Aaron went 0-for-4.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the San Francisco Giants, 4-3 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. (94124. Oracle Park is 94107. Crosley Field was 45234, and Riverfront Stadium and Great American Ball Park both used 45202.) Willie Mays went 0-for-4, Willie McCovey went 1-for-5, rookie Pete Rose went 2-for-5, and Frank Robinson did not play.

* The New York Mets were not scheduled. They were then still playing at the Polo Grounds, 10039. The next year, they moved to Shea Stadium, 11368. Ebbets Field was 11225.

* Neither Chicago team was scheduled. The Cubs' Wrigley Field is 60613. The White Sox' Comiskey Park, and its replacement Rate Field, were both assigned 60616.

* Also not scheduled: The Cleveland Indians, whose Municipal Stadium was 44114, and whose Progressive Field is 44115; the Detroit Tigers, whose Tiger Stadium was 48216, and whose Comerica Park is 48201; the Los Angeles Angels, then groundsharing at Dodger Stadium, but in 1966 moved to Anaheim Stadium, now Angel Stadium, 92806; the Minnesota Twins, whose Metropolitan Stadium was 55425, while the Metrodome was 55415, while Target Field is 55403; and the Washington Senators, whose District of Columbia Stadium, later renamed Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, and Nationals Park are both 20003.