I would bet most posters know there Zip Code. Before Mr. Zip was put into service on July 1, 1963 we had "Postal Zone" numbers or "Rural Route" numbers.

Do you know what your Postal Zone or Rural Route was? Example, my Postal Zone was "Portland 25 Oregon". Chances are you've moved since 1963. Do you know what your Postal Zone or Rural Route would have been, where you live now?

exactly how old are you?

51

Hell I didnt even know that there was such a term as rural route or postal zone.

Grew up in Creswell but live in Ne Portland now, Fremont area.

so ya I dunno

Mc74: Need to know if you are before or after NE 42nd line. Or before or after 82nd line. Or Before or after 122nd line, to give you your Postal Zone.

I don't know what mine would be...

When I was a kid, it was route 1, box 192, but that was for molalla or mulino, never was sure. I do remember the whole switch to zip codes things. The school made a big deal out of remembering them.

What's the code for 102nd avenue, ne?

These things went by city right? So, PDX must have had a lot of them, or they were really big.

I was on a route, how did the zones work?

I grew up at Rt. 1 Box 264 in Gresham. Had that address into the early '70s. I remember for the longest time the power bill had our address simply as "Six power poles west of Cathy Rd." That was when we were still on the outskirts of town. My folks still live there, but today they are surrounded by subdivisions and McMansions on postage stamp lots.

Another route one person! We had the route address up to about 1972 - 74...

Missing: Need to know if you are between Burnside line or between SE Division line and what side: North or South, to give you your Postal Zone.

These Postal Zones looked like box's on a map, using streets as the dividing lines.

My Grandparents in Dundee when living was: Route 3, Box 565.

Well, I'm North of Burnside --it's the closest street as I would have to pass it before getting to Division.

Does that map have the suburbs in it? Rose City, Parkrose, Menlo Park, etc...?

Missing: Yours would have been:

"Portland 20 Oregon"

Question: Are the last two digits in your Zip Code the same? Mine are.

The same as 20?

Yep.

You just know they tried to sync those up somehow. There was some lattitude with the initial number assignments. Would make sense to use them in a way that helps the mail carriers adapt.

well to be exact I am one block east off 122 and fremont. 12331

How about just north of the Skyline Cafe ? I think it was zone 27 or 29... it is 97229 today.
ARGH... I need a double patty smokey cheeseburger NOW !
Edit: my wife claims the first zip was 97210 and was changed later.

>>You just know they tried to sync those up somehow.

That's exactly why they called it the Zone Improvement Program, because it integrated the existing zones into the new plan. "Hollywood 28 California" became 90028.

"When Mr. Zip was a teenager they used to call him Mr. Zit." - Robert W Morgan, KHJ

http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/ZIP_code

All you need to know about postal zones.

There are also carrier route (CR) numbers
If you mail a lot, and a lot goes to one specific area, if you sort it by carrier route (CR) you save a lot of money. There are computer programs that do that for you, and instid the CR theres anothe number, which is the stop on the carriers route.

I didnt have a "Zone" before zip codes, because I am from a very small town in Okie land.

Mc74: Your Postal Zone was:

"Portland 30 Oregon"

Jr tech: The Skyline area was:

"Portland 10 Oregon"

Evidently there have been changes since 1963. I remember when I was working in the Bancoft Building there was a change of Zip Codes.

"Portland 10 Oregon" Thats funny, my wife remembered the change from 97210 to 97229, but we were both thinking numbers in the high 20's for the old zone number. Zone 10 and 97210 would make sense.

Here a web page that shows current boundaries of zip codes.

http://maps.huge.info/

Re: Carrier Route numbers--

Doesn't this have something to do with the "CAR-RT SORT" thing I used to see on address labels years ago? That the mail was sorted by routing number?

That code is still used.

Here's A Complete List

Craig, I'm the same age as you, and I'm from New York 23, New York.

And my phone was ENdicott 2-2178!