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KIRO-TV: Move or get flattened

L

LITTLEBOYBLUE

Larry Rice posted a story online that KIRO's Broadcast House was sold to an apartment developer. They've had an abundance of space for awhile (when KIRO was in it originally the 3rd floor was rented out to other tenants). Since then, even an adjoining building was acquired and turned into parking for news vehicles. The trend is clearly to "downsize" from the custom-designed super-facilities to "take part of a floor in an office building". Channel 11, ironically, was the first to do this when they abandoned Tacoma and moved into an office park in Renton -- then ditched THAT for an office floor above KZOK/KMPS, etc. and the operations moved (I believe to Bay Area?). Much of KOMO's space is allocated to switching other stations out of Seattle.

My first job in this market was in Broadcast House and I was so proud to be there. Will miss it.
 
Sad to see that piece of Seattle broadcast history disappear. We already went through this when KING 5 moved out of their (formally) state-of-the-art broadcasting house on Dexter Avenue. There just isn’t a need for large facilities anymore.
 
I toured Broadcast House around age 14 or so. So would have been ‘74 or so. I remember it seemed like a palace compared to KING and KOMO, which I had also toured. KING’s studio was small and dungeon like located in the basement. KOMO’s studios seemed small compared to KIRO. Btw, I also recall quick shots of the exterior of Broadcast House in the news opener circa mid-70’s. They probably did that knowing their competition were in inferior buildings.

Of course KING caught up with a new state of the art facility in the early 80’s. Ironically also torn down for new residential. KOMO still in the same location at Fisher Plaza, (edit: apparently now KOMO plaza, may again change soon!).
 
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I recall taking a trip to Seattle as a child, and visiting the Space Needle. From the top of the building, you could see the studios of KIRO, KING, and KOMO. It was interesting to see the respective logos painted on the rooftops of the buildings. I assume that they weren’t landing helicopters there (as that would probably be against FAA policies), but at the time, I thought that they did. Obviously the land is too valuable not to capitalize on, but it doesn’t mean that the old KIRO studio won’t be missed.
This conversation makes me wonder if the property that houses the transmitter sites for many of these Seattle broadcasters will ever be sold off. Even though these tower sites may not provide the greatest coverage compared to sites like Tiger Mountain, the skyline Queen Anne would certainly look different without the flashing towers.
 
Related: which station tower got all lit up with Christmas lights in the 60’ and 70’s? I want to say KING, but not certain.
 
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More stupid, stupid condos going for millions of dollars. Come on. There needs to be a petition to save Broadcast House. It's the last old-style broadcast building left in Seattle. History all over that place, J.P. Patches, Aaron Brown pre-CNN, Steve Raible after he left the Seahawks.
I don't recognize Seattle anymore, in fact, I don't even recognize Bothell anymore, the town I grew up in. Country Village gone for condos, condos all over Downtown, more strip malls than ever before along Bothell Everett Hwy, and of course, zillions of new housing developments. Old-growth and second-growth forest is disappearing from Snohomish County before our very eyes. Won't be long before the nearest place with a forest IS Snoqualmie Pass...
 
crainbebo said:
More stupid, stupid condos going for millions of dollars. Come on. There needs to be a petition to save Broadcast House. It's the last old-style broadcast building left in Seattle. History all over that place, J.P. Patches, Aaron Brown pre-CNN, Steve Raible after he left the Seahawks.
I don't recognize Seattle anymore, in fact, I don't even recognize Bothell anymore, the town I grew up in. Country Village gone for condos, condos all over Downtown, more strip malls than ever before along Bothell Everett Hwy, and of course, zillions of new housing developments. Old-growth and second-growth forest is disappearing from Snohomish County before our very eyes. Won't be long before the nearest place with a forest IS Snoqualmie Pass...
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It’s going to be really sad to see the KIRO building close it’s doors for the last time, but unfortunately, it doesn’t really fit the definition of a historic landmark. I’ve always wondered what the KING employees think of their new facility. Leased commercial real estate can be a bit of a challenge.
 
While I can understand this Crainbebo, I think change is enevitable. Maybe not for the better, but time passes. Compare Seattle today to 1990. Huge changes. Compare Seattle to 1960, even huger changes.
 
True on the small confines of King in sodo. While broadcast space is not needed as much as previous decades, I have heard most at KING don’t care for the small studio space. Compared to the competition they lack a certain gravitas.
 
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seatownmedia said:
True on the small confines of King in sodo. While broadcast space is not needed as much as previous decades, I have heard most at KING don’t care for the small studio space. Compared to the competition they lack a certain gravitas.
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Even with the small studio space for on-air operations, leased real estate raises a few questions about employee parking (is there enough parking for the employees, and all of the news equipment?), the yearly cost of the property (a value that would likely be unfathomable to the average Joe), and the limited ability to expand operations. I’m sure that they have zero intention of expanding their footprint, but it would be a challenge if they ever needed to do so.
 
crainbebo said:
More stupid, stupid condos going for millions of dollars. Come on. There needs to be a petition to save Broadcast House. It's the last old-style broadcast building left in Seattle. History all over that place, J.P. Patches, Aaron Brown pre-CNN, Steve Raible after he left the Seahawks.
I don't recognize Seattle anymore, in fact, I don't even recognize Bothell anymore, the town I grew up in. Country Village gone for condos, condos all over Downtown, more strip malls than ever before along Bothell Everett Hwy, and of course, zillions of new housing developments. Old-growth and second-growth forest is disappearing from Snohomish County before our very eyes. Won't be long before the nearest place with a forest IS Snoqualmie Pass...
Click to expand...
Does Seattle feel more shallower than when you first move there or lived there as a child.
Yes I get it certain areas that are gentrified call in to question if it was a good idea at the time but then again the economy needed a boost one way or another.
 
It's just that every little piece of 2nd-growth forest in the Seattle area is getting chopped down for more housing developments, the same cookie-cutter homes that only have a couple of feet of space in between each other. Tri-Cities is very similar but without the forest, and without the condos.
2020s Downtown Bothell looks like some city I've never been into. This condo-paradise used to be a sleepy downtown district with a vintage "marina-style" Safeway, the old Anderson School building, a wonderful bakery that made all my birthday cakes growing up, and the Ranch Drive-In. The latter two still exist, amazingly, the others are long gone. Up towards the North Creek business park is another row of condos filled with shops on the ground floor and a brewery. None of this existed when I left Bothell over 10 yrs ago. It was all trees and blackberry bushes.
Country Village was a cool place, with tons of little shops (locally-owned small businesses...a toy shop, gift shops, a handbag shop, eateries, etc.) It was a little piece of Americana in Bothell, with the creek and ducks rolling through it. Gone, razed, for more condos.
There were plans to raze the Yakima Fruit Market on Bothell Way (open since the 1940s) for you guessed it, more condos. It was met with negative attention by fans and shoppers, and so far it's still around.

At least Ellensburg and Yakima aren't full of condos and within the next 25 years, they likely won't. I know times change, but Bothell has completely changed its look and many of the classic traits of that town are just memories now.

I am WAY OT...back to the topic at hand...
 
The ironic thing about this is that TV ordered radio to be out by February 1996 or their equipment will be torn out and thrown into the street. That’s why radio ended up at 1820 Eastlake. Now it’s TV being ordered out.
 
Equipment torn out and thrown into the street? That's what happened a number of years ago to the folks at KIMA-TV in Yakima. Head people running the station decided to just throw out the station film and tape archives one day. Thankfully the employees were lined up at the dumpster to grab a lot of that material and most has been saved. I wouldn't have known about this if I hadn't met ex-weatherman Stu Seibel. He was the weeknight meteorologist for 25 years and also the program director. Still alive and well today, and full of knowledge. Also a ham radio operator too.
I wouldn't doubt the same happened with KNDO and KAPP when they had to put the buildings up for sale, fire the Yakima crew and send everyone to Tri-Cities.
 
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