# Institutions With Their Own ZIP Code **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 11, 2003, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/institutions-with-their-own-zip-code/212568 "2003-11-11T06:33:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/institutions-with-their-own-zip-code/212568/1 "2003-11-11T06:33:11Z")
How many well known institutions have their own ZIP code? As I understand it (I could be wrong), the Spiegel catalogue has 60609 all to itself, and Reader’s Digest has a ZIP code to itself also. Any other places, companies, organizations or buildings have their own ZIP? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/institutions-with-their-own-zip-code/212568/2 "2003-11-11T06:38:25Z")
The WTC has their own zip code, as does the Pentagon. Also, Disney World, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/institutions-with-their-own-zip-code/212568/3 "2003-11-11T06:44:59Z")
The man in the Harvard Square post office told me that 02238 belongs to that building only. Each of the thousands of PO boxes in that building has its own unique nine-digit ZIP, so it uses a good number of the available ones. I imagine a lot of post office buildings are like that. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/institutions-with-their-own-zip-code/212568/4 "2003-11-11T07:24:57Z")
Doesn’t Weird Al Yankovic have his own zip code? I thought he said so… in one of his songs… ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/institutions-with-their-own-zip-code/212568/5 "2003-11-11T07:34:04Z")
Lots of universities also have their own ZIPs. The University of Texas at Austin, to name one. ---
**Author:** ![pilot141](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e0b2c6/32.png) [@pilot141](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pilot141)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/institutions-with-their-own-zip-code/212568/6 "2003-11-11T07:48:50Z")
Jeez…corporations, banks…almost anyone who gets enough mail can have their own ZIP code. My old bank/credit union in Del Rio, TX had their own ZIP+4 code. That was in a town with only 20,000 people. I’m pretty sure the good people at Bank One and Discover who take my credit card payments have their own ZIP code as well. The ZIP code was designed to help the Post Office deliver mail more efficiently. Thus, anything that generates enough mail will probably be assigned it’s own ZIP code by the post office. You could probably narrow your search by only specifying buildings with their own ZIP code, but even then you’d probably have an unmanageable list. ---
**Author:** ![MaryEFoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MaryEFoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaryEFoo)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/institutions-with-their-own-zip-code/212568/7 "2003-11-11T08:06:20Z")
(I seem to recall) the Internal Revenue Service in Fresno has its own. If so, the IRS probably is an institution with more than one ZIP code. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/institutions-with-their-own-zip-code/212568/8 "2003-11-11T08:06:39Z")
A quick look at the Minneapolis Zip Code book shows dozens institutions or buildings with their own zip code, just here in Minneapolis alone. Like the Hennepin County Building, 55487; or the University of Mn Minneapolis campus, 55455. So across the country, I imagine there are a whole lot of well known institutions with their own zip code. Maybe even some not so well known ones. The tiny little town of Young America, MN happens to be home to a company that processes a whole lot of rebate coupons. (Some of you may remember mailing some there.) They get enough mail that the Post Office assigned them their own zip code. So this little town, with a total population probably smaller than the number of people who post here every day, has 2 zip codes! ---
**Author:** ![Catfood\_Purrito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Catfood\_Purrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catfood_Purrito)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/institutions-with-their-own-zip-code/212568/9 "2003-11-11T08:46:40Z")
The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, has it’s own zip code, 55905. ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/institutions-with-their-own-zip-code/212568/10 "2003-11-11T12:18:24Z")
In Washington, D.C., every Federal agency headquarters has its own ZIP code. ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/institutions-with-their-own-zip-code/212568/11 "2003-11-11T12:38:56Z")
Zip codes were developed to expedite delivery of mail. Semi-automatic, and fullly automatic machines sort each piece by criteria to direct that piece along the most effficient route to the delivery point. Each and every delivery point or carrier route has either a 5 or 9 digit code assigned depending on the volume of mail delivered. Therefore a large building in a small city may have a 5 digit Zip while a small building or business on a carrier route may have the same 9 digit Zip as the businesses on the same route. In this case the address distinguishes the specific delivery point. The point of Zips is to minimize misdirected mailby eliminating human erron. Any questions? ---
**Author:** ![Yossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/9de0a6/32.png) [@Yossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yossarian)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/institutions-with-their-own-zip-code/212568/12 "2003-11-11T12:49:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by neuroman \* > \*\*Lots of universities also have their own ZIPs. The University of Texas at Austin, to name one. \*\* Yep, and even little bitty Universities often have their own. Sul Ross State University (~2000 students) owns 79832. OTOH, many larger Universities don’t. And IIRC, UT-Austin has several zip codes. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/institutions-with-their-own-zip-code/212568/13 "2003-11-11T13:16:26Z")
The GE plant in Schenectady has its own zip code, and it’s easy to remember: 12345 Some individuals have their own nine-digit zip code. I remember going through the nine-digit directory for New York City back in the 80s and seeing the zips for Isaac Asimov and Walter Cronkite. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/institutions-with-their-own-zip-code/212568/14 "2003-11-11T13:27:56Z")
I used to live in a high-rise building with 24 floors and 8 units per floor. We had the same 5-digit zip as the surrounding neighborhood, but each set of 3 floors had a distinct 4-digit zip extension. So the one building had 8 distinct 9-digit zip codes. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/institutions-with-their-own-zip-code/212568/15 "2003-11-11T13:40:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by friedo \* > \*\*The WTC has their own zip code, as does the Pentagon. Also, Disney World, IIRC. \*\* The Pentagon actually has five. One for each branch of the service (Army, Navy, AF, Marines) and one for the Joint Chiefs. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate have their own. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/institutions-with-their-own-zip-code/212568/16 "2003-11-11T13:41:13Z")
That’s interesting that there would be different ZIP+4’s in the same building. I guess it makes sense, though, as a ZIP+4 generally represents 8-10 households (often thought of as one side of a block). Since it was such a large number of households, they might want to assign a certain number of +4 extensions to the building itself. ---
**Author:** ![pilot141](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e0b2c6/32.png) [@pilot141](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pilot141)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/institutions-with-their-own-zip-code/212568/17 "2003-11-11T15:49:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spingears \* > \*\*The point of Zips is to minimize misdirected mailby eliminating human erron. > > Any questions? \*\* Yeah, how do they deal with typos? 😉 Sorry, couldn’t resist. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/institutions-with-their-own-zip-code/212568/18 "2003-11-11T17:18:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by interface2x \* > \*\*That’s interesting that there would be different ZIP+4’s in the same building. I guess it makes sense, though, as a ZIP+4 generally represents 8-10 households (often thought of as one side of a block). Since it was such a large number of households, they might want to assign a certain number of +4 extensions to the building itself. \*\* An apartment building I was living in recently had a (to me, at least) complicated scheme. Each set of mailboxes (there were three, side by side in the lobby) was divided into two ZIP-9 codes - odd and even apartment numbers, with a total of 6 ZIP-9 codes per building. Physically at the mailboxes, the codes interleaved rather than being something like upper half and lower half of the box. In reality, the mail came all mixed up in one or more tubs and the carrier sorted it out in the lobby. So much for any sort (heh-heh) of intelligence in sorting. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/institutions-with-their-own-zip-code/212568/19 "2003-11-11T17:36:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pilot141 \* > My old bank/credit union in Del Rio, TX had their own ZIP+4 code. That was in a town with only 20,000 people. ZIP+4’s are pretty common, though. As I mentioned earlier, every person with a PO Box in this 100,000-person town gets their own ZIP+4. I’m pretty sure the OP meant 5-digit ZIPs. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/institutions-with-their-own-zip-code/212568/20 "2003-11-11T19:04:04Z")
Some universities have several. 43210 is the Ohio State University graduate students’ housing complex. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/institutions-with-their-own-zip-code/212568.md?page=2)