The first direct-dial coast to coast telephone call was made in 1951 between the Mayor of Englewood, New Jersey and the Mayor of Alameda, California.
Taking ~18 seconds to connect, the call was placed using AT&T’s direct distance dialing system which did not require operator assistance.
The new method utilized a ten-digit phone number which included the three-digit area code system that had been implemented in the late 1940s.