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Broadcast Tower on Griffin St.

R

rok

I have a question about the tower on the roof of Ch. 4 KDFW Fox TV on Griffin St. in Downtown Dallas.

Is it currently being used to broadcast any radio or tv signals?

What was the original purpose of this tower? I assume it broadcast KRLD radio at one time. Did KRLD ch. 4 ever broadcast tv signals from this tower?

Thanks in advance.

mac
 
That tower was the original tower for KRLD-TV in 1949. The TV stayed there until the construction of the Hill Tower (the first candelabra tower ever constructed) in 1955. (Hill Tower was jointly constructed with WFAA-TV). KRLD-FM was never on the Griffin Street tower, the FM was on one of the KRLD AM towers in Garland, and remained there until it too moved to Hill Tower.
 
Huff, isn't the Griffin tower still used for microwave/STL purposes?
 
Thanks. I assume from you answer that KRLD-AM radio was never broadcast from this tower.

And this reminds me of another old memory I have. Around the Summer of 1965 or 66 there was a tabloid insert in the Dallas Morning News by Channel 11 TV hyping their new broadcasting tower at Cedar Hill. I could be wrong, but I think they claimed it was the tallest tower in Texas, or maybe the tallest tower in the DFW area.

mac
 
rok said:
IAnd this reminds me of another old memory I have. Around the Summer of 1965 or 66 there was a tabloid insert in the Dallas Morning News by Channel 11 TV hyping their new broadcasting tower at Cedar Hill. I could be wrong, but I think they claimed it was the tallest tower in Texas, or maybe the tallest tower in the DFW area.
Click to expand...

Might have been tallest in Texas at the time, can't think of anyone else that was taller.

When KVII/7 in Amarillo fired up their new tower in the early 70's (1971?) they claimed it was "Texas' tallest tower" which might have been the case until some of the 2000' monsters came along in DFW and Houston in the late 70's/early 80's.

The KWTX tower built in the late 70's might have been a brief record holder, but not sure of the exact timeline.
 
The KWTX tower built in the late 70's might have been a brief record holder, but not sure of the exact timeline.
Click to expand...

A sign at the construction site for the new KWTX (Waco) tower in the late 1970s noted that when completed, the tower would be the tallest structure in Texas -- 1,679 feet above the ground (2,532 feet above mean sea level). The tower is located near Moody, southwest of Waco, and erected by Andrews Tower Company, Fort Worth, if I'm not mistaken.

Planning for the KWTX/Moody tower was under way by August 1976. After first rejecting plans for the proposed tower in early November 1976, the FAA gave it's go-ahead in late March 1977. The FAA noted that the tower "would have no substantial adverse effect on safe and efficient use of navigable air space" and would be "no hazard to air navigation." M.N. "Buddy" Bostick, president and general manager of KWTX, had previously stated that the tower would not interfere with flight patterns in Waco, McGregor or Temple. The FAA's decision was conditional on the tower being illuminated by high-intensity strobes.

The KWTX/Moody tower was completed by mid-1979.

The new KWTX/Moody tower replaced a 1,080-foot tower constructed in 1966 near Lorena (south of Waco), from which the signals of KWTX-TV (Channel 10) and KWTX-FM (97.5MHz) were broadcast. The Lorena tower was deactivated and brought down a few years after the Moody tower was erected.

Mike Braun
KWTX-AM/FM
1975-1979
 
Mike Braun said:
.
The KWTX/Moody tower was completed by mid-1979.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the memory jog. I recall driving between DFW and Austin along I-35 shortly after the tower went on the air and being amazed at how good the FM coverage was. Also one of the first tall towers I recall seeing with strobe lights.

The previous KWTX tower was a familiar sight along I-35 back then, along with the KCEN tower and studios.
 
Thanks for the memory jog. I recall driving between DFW and Austin along I-35 shortly after the tower went on the air and being amazed at how good the FM coverage was. Also one of the first tall towers I recall seeing with strobe lights.

The previous KWTX tower was a familiar sight along I-35 back then, along with the KCEN tower and studios.
Click to expand...

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it. And thanks for your comments.

Here's another interesting tid-bit about the KWTX/Moody tower.

I have a digital scan of a KWTX promotional advertisement that explained how the new tower will improve reception of Channel 10's signal throughout Central Texas.

The ad states:

"Atop this tower is the very newest of television antennas available, a CP (Circular Polarization) antenna to give KWTX television an excellent city grade, rabbit-ear signal within 50 miles surrounding a tower which covers all of Waco, Temple, Killeen, and Copperas Cove; also, an excellent "A" grade signal out as far as 70 miles and a superior "B" grade signal 90 to 100 miles from the antenna. The purpose of this antenna is to give KWTX-TV a much superior picture in all of Central Texas, thus giving your customer the clearest, sharpest color presentation of your product in the $2,551,000,000 Central Texas market."
 
Mike Braun said:
Thanks for the memory jog. I recall driving between DFW and Austin along I-35 shortly after the tower went on the air and being amazed at how good the FM coverage was. Also one of the first tall towers I recall seeing with strobe lights.

The previous KWTX tower was a familiar sight along I-35 back then, along with the KCEN tower and studios.
Click to expand...

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it. And thanks for your comments.

Here's another interesting tid-bit about the KWTX/Moody tower.

I have a digital scan of a KWTX promotional advertisement that explained how the new tower will improve reception of Channel 10's signal throughout Central Texas.

The ad states:

"Atop this tower is the very newest of television antennas available, a CP (Circular Polarization) antenna to give KWTX television an excellent city grade, rabbit-ear signal within 50 miles surrounding a tower which covers all of Waco, Temple, Killeen, and Copperas Cove; also, an excellent "A" grade signal out as far as 70 miles and a superior "B" grade signal 90 to 100 miles from the antenna. The purpose of this antenna is to give KWTX-TV a much superior picture in all of Central Texas, thus giving your customer the clearest, sharpest color presentation of your product in the $2,551,000,000 Central Texas market."
Click to expand...

Here is a similar ad from the antenna's manufacturer:
http://www.americanradiohistory.com.../1980-02-25-BC-OCR-Page-0045.pdf#search="kwtx circular polarization%22
 
The Salem tower out near Collinsville is one foot short of being the tallest structure in Texas at 1,999 feet. (But I don't think 660 broadcasts from it.) On a clear night you can see its strobes from McKinney.
 
Triple Fake Jerry said:
The Salem tower out near Collinsville is one foot short of being the tallest structure in Texas at 1,999 feet. (But I don't think 660 broadcasts from it.) On a clear night you can see its strobes from McKinney.
Click to expand...
For what it's worth the 660 KSKY transmitter site is west of Huffines Blvd, south of 121 over by the Coyote Ridge Golf Course near Lewisville

I "think" the Potter Lane CBS/Radio One tower in Cedar Hill is the tallest one (AGL) in Cedar Hill these days.
 
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