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1450 WJXN tower gone

rfburns

rfburns

I noticed driving thru Jackson yesterday that the old AM tower for WJXN 1450 is gone. Sad end to a long time land mark.
 
If the Rohn STL/NWN/LPFM tower is still there right next to it, that must have been a bit of work to bring down the old AM tower without getting tangled up in the smaller one.
 
Both towers are gone. The original Windcharger tower for the AM and the Rohn 25 tower that Ed St. Pe added for the FM STL antennas and the Marti. I saw where they cleared paths in the wooded area behind the Foley St. building. They probably disassembled the STL tower then dropped the AM tower. Had my first paying radio gig at WJXN-AM in 1985 working weekends.
 
I always wondered why they didn't mount the WLEZ antenna on the old AM tower instead of putting up a seperate FM tower. Are there any other old radio sites and towers still standing? The old WRKN studios are deserted and overgrown, the towers were taken down several years ago and they moved the tower site behind old cement plant.
 
Several reasons - main one was the AM tower was in bad shape. It was a black iron (non-galvanized) Windcharger tower that had been there since the 40's. I can tell you from experience that climbing a Windcharger is NOT a fun experience even if it is in good shape - and this one wasn't in good shape. St. Pe' had to put up another tower for STL shots to WJNS-FM and WJXN-FM anyway - installing STL dishes, Marti antenna and LPFM antenna on the AM tower would have been a major headache even if it was in good shape. Adding anything to an insulated series fed AM tower is no easy task.

RFB
 
Also the site grew up in Kudzo and other brush on the antenna site over the years. It must have been real fun to hack all that out to get to the Towers. you could see the overgrown mess looking from I-55.
 
I remember back in Easter of 1979 that entire building which was a Jim Walter-type house, went under water. I've always wondered if they got any of the transmitter or studio equipment out of the building before it went under. I remember it was off the air for a long time after the flood. Hate to see it go. It's a shame they shut down the station. the last time I heard it, it would sign on for a couple of hours a day with fairly low signal. Does anyone remember the Colonel Reb neon sign out front?
 
I had a lot of good memories from WJXN starting 1965. It was my first real radio job. Started on the day they switched from rock 'n roll to C&W. I so wanted to be a rock 'n roll disc jockey.
 
As I recall their studio was on Lamar Street. Prior to the move to 916 Foley Street...In the Then Deposit Guaranty Building (2nd floor) this would have been around 1949, understand it was quite a progressive studio
 
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