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Portland radio original studio/tower locations

S

sleepingtree

Just out of my own personal curiosity/fascination with Portland radio history-where were some of the original locations of Portland area radio stations' studios and towers? i.e. Was 'MGX always on Western Ave, etc.? Anyone have any photos or know of any remnants?

And while I'm at it-was it true that WGME once had a tower on Rattlesnake Mountain as my 50 Hikes in Southern Maine book suggests? If so, is there anything left to mark the site (as the book also suggests).

Jeesh, I'm a nerd.
<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by sleepingtree on 10/30/05 04:47 PM.</FONT></P>
 
I believe WMGX was originally on the top floor of the Time & Temp building in downtown Portland.After that they were at the corner of Cumberland Ave. & High St.,then Western Ave.WHOM was in a building that's attached to the Time & Temp building,then went to Warren Ave.,then to One City Center. WJBQ was also on Warren Ave. before One City Center.WYNZ and 970am used to be in Scarborough off of Route One where the Old K-Mart,now Maine Med is. I think WBQW 106.3 was also at that location. WPOR was on the top floor of 562 Congress St,then to 15 Baxter Blvd. then Western Ave. WGAN am-fm 102.9 then WTHT 102.9 then WTHT 107.5 were at Northport Plaza at the corner of Allen Ave. & Washington Ave.WLOB am in it's current location on Warren Ave. also housed WLOB fm 100.9 and WYNZ Z 101 100.9. WCYY was in downtown Biddeford then One City Center.
1490 am was wherever WPOR was.1490 am once had the WMTW calls,don't know what was happening back then.1440 am spent most of it's time wherever WJBQ was.

Call Letter History:
560 WGAN
870 WLVP,WMTW,WLAM,WKZN
970 WCSH,WYNZ,WZAN
1310 WLOB
1440 WJAE,WLPZ,WMER,WJBQ,WJAB
1490 WBAE,WPOR,WMTW
1590 SILENT,WASY,WJBQ,WKZN,WDCI

Anyone have any additions or corrections?
 
Here are a couple of random historical notes for you...

Former rocker WLOB-FM/WYNZ-FM (Z-101) had its transmitter on top of the Eastland Hotel, in downtown Portland. Back in those days, it was a 3000 watt station. WBLM at 107.5, originally was based in a trailer, near Lewiston, and eventually based in a building, in Lewiston. The transmitter was on a mountain, between Lewiston, and Augusta. 97.9 used to be Classical WDCS, but eventually changed frequencies with Top 40 WJBQ, than at 106.3. 102.9 was originally WLOB-FM, I understand, and became WGAN-FM, in the 1960's. WGAN-FM was an elevator music station, from the 1960's until 1985, when it flipped to Top 40. 94.9-WHOM, used to be WMTW, until some time in the 1970s...


I believe WMGX was originally on the top floor of the Time &
> Temp building in downtown Portland.After that they were at
> the corner of Cumberland Ave. & High St.,then Western
> Ave.WHOM was in a building that's attached to the Time &
> Temp building,then went to Warren Ave.,then to One City
> Center. WJBQ was also on Warren Ave. before One City
> Center.WYNZ and 970am used to be in Scarborough off of Route
> One where the Old K-Mart,now Maine Med is. I think WBQW
> 106.3 was also at that location. WPOR was on the top
> floor of 562 Congress St,then to 15 Baxter Blvd. then
> Western Ave. WGAN am-fm 102.9 then WTHT 102.9 then WTHT
> 107.5 were at Northport Plaza at the corner of Allen Ave. &
> Washington Ave.WLOB am in it's current location on Warren
> Ave. also housed WLOB fm 100.9 and WYNZ Z 101 100.9. WCYY
> was in downtown Biddeford then One City Center.
> 1490 am was wherever WPOR was.1490 am once had the WMTW
> calls,don't know what was happening back then.1440 am spent
> most of it's time wherever WJBQ was.
>
> Call Letter History:
> 560 WGAN
> 870 WLVP,WMTW,WLAM,WKZN
> 970 WCSH,WYNZ,WZAN
> 1310 WLOB
> 1440 WJAE,WLPZ,WMER,WJBQ,WJAB
> 1490 WBAE,WPOR,WMTW
> 1590 SILENT,WASY,WJBQ,WKZN,WDCI
>
> Anyone have any additions or corrections?
>
 
WGAN (AM) studios used to be in the Press Herald Building on Congress St, across from City Hall.

WCSH (AM 970) was originally in the Congress Square Hotel (hence the calls) on Congress St, around the corner from where WCSH-6 TV is presently. the radio later moved to the Scarborough location (off Elmwood Ave, visible through the trees coming from 295 to Route 1)

WHOM was, for a long time, located in the building next to the Roma Restaurant a bit further down Congress St. they moved from there to the mezzanine level of 477 Congress (time/temp bldg).

WJBQ, back in the day, was on Main St in Westbrook, iirc.

WCYY (used to be WBYC/WYJY/WSTG) was situated on Main St in Biddeford (above Hoy Printing), then moved to the WIDE Xmitter site (close to the pike exit, next to the York County YMCA) to a newly-built "home-style" studio to house both WIDE & WSTG.


> Here are a couple of random historical notes for you...
>
> Former rocker WLOB-FM/WYNZ-FM (Z-101) had its transmitter on
> top of the Eastland Hotel, in downtown Portland. Back in
> those days, it was a 3000 watt station. WBLM at 107.5,
> originally was based in a trailer, near Lewiston, and
> eventually based in a building, in Lewiston. The transmitter
> was on a mountain, between Lewiston, and Augusta. 97.9 used
> to be Classical WDCS, but eventually changed frequencies
> with Top 40 WJBQ, than at 106.3. 102.9 was originally
> WLOB-FM, I understand, and became WGAN-FM, in the 1960's.
> WGAN-FM was an elevator music station, from the 1960's until
> 1985, when it flipped to Top 40. 94.9-WHOM, used to be WMTW,
> until some time in the 1970s...
>
>
> I believe WMGX was originally on the top floor of the Time &
>
> > Temp building in downtown Portland.After that they were at
>
> > the corner of Cumberland Ave. & High St.,then Western
> > Ave.WHOM was in a building that's attached to the Time &
> > Temp building,then went to Warren Ave.,then to One City
> > Center. WJBQ was also on Warren Ave. before One City
> > Center.WYNZ and 970am used to be in Scarborough off of
> Route
> > One where the Old K-Mart,now Maine Med is. I think WBQW
> > 106.3 was also at that location. WPOR was on the top
> > floor of 562 Congress St,then to 15 Baxter Blvd. then
> > Western Ave. WGAN am-fm 102.9 then WTHT 102.9 then WTHT
> > 107.5 were at Northport Plaza at the corner of Allen Ave.
> &
> > Washington Ave.WLOB am in it's current location on Warren
> > Ave. also housed WLOB fm 100.9 and WYNZ Z 101 100.9. WCYY
>
> > was in downtown Biddeford then One City Center.
> > 1490 am was wherever WPOR was.1490 am once had the WMTW
> > calls,don't know what was happening back then.1440 am
> spent
> > most of it's time wherever WJBQ was.
> >
> > Call Letter History:
> > 560 WGAN
> > 870 WLVP,WMTW,WLAM,WKZN
> > 970 WCSH,WYNZ,WZAN
> > 1310 WLOB
> > 1440 WJAE,WLPZ,WMER,WJBQ,WJAB
> > 1490 WBAE,WPOR,WMTW
> > 1590 SILENT,WASY,WJBQ,WKZN,WDCI
> >
> > Anyone have any additions or corrections?
> >
>
 
>
> WCSH (AM 970) was originally in the Congress Square Hotel
> (hence the calls) on Congress St, around the corner from
> where WCSH-6 TV is presently. the radio later moved to the
> Scarborough location (off Elmwood Ave, visible through the
> trees coming from 295 to Route 1)
>

Wasn't it in some sort of art-deco building? This would have been late 70s/early 80s.
 
> >
> > WCSH (AM 970) was originally in the Congress Square Hotel
> > (hence the calls) on Congress St, around the corner from
> > where WCSH-6 TV is presently. the radio later moved to the
>
> > Scarborough location (off Elmwood Ave, visible through the
>
> > trees coming from 295 to Route 1)
> >
>
> Wasn't it in some sort of art-deco building? This would
> have been late 70s/early 80s.
>

nope. my first gig in 1979 was at The Mighty 970, in the building in the woods at the end of the unpaved road from hell (in snow & rain). wouldn't call the building art deco: it was pretty bland & boring. the original building was for the 970 transmitter only, then at some point ('70's) was expanded to accomodate studios & sales offices. the nice thing about the building was real windows that could open! and the grill out back was nice for cooking burgers&dogs during long songs. we had dedicated lines from the TV studios (for news) and from Bangor (for the other Maine Broadcasting Station) for public affairs sharing. the WCSH/WYNZ thing stayed there through 1994 when Saga purchased the combo (am970/fm100.9) and moved them to Western Ave. WDCS (106.3) moved into the building in the woods for a time.

when i first started, Rick Barron & Sue Bernard were the news peeps. they did newscasts from a small studio on High St at the TV studio. Sue Bernard is now the spokesperson for the Catholic Diocese in Portland.

maybe 'DCS was, at some point, in a building on route 1. (fuzzy mind barely at work here...)

and the building in the woods may have been considered "art deco" before the expansion that made it look like every other 1970's era brick boxes. fybush dot com might have something in his archives.

http://gallery.bostonradio.org/2005-06/maine/100-02937-th.jpg

the photo at this link shows one end of the "original" building. the add-on was on the opposite end of what it shown in this photo.
 
A few corrections, including 97.9.

Small correction. 97.9 was the original (partly simulcast, partly brokered) WLOB-FM until around 1971-72 when it converted to Stereo and became Classical/part religious WDCS. In 1980 or so, WJBQ (then 106.3, which signed on in 1975) swapped frequencies with 'DCS, with 'JBQ going to 97.9 and 'DCS moving to 106.3. It was strictly a economic move.

102.9 was the original (100,000 watt) WGAN-FM/"Stereo 103" which signed-on with an automated beautiful music format in Stereo in 1967. Many of the voice-overs were made by some of the Channel 13 crew, like the late Bob O'Wrill and Frank Fixaris. That would be the staple of WGAN-FM until the mid 1980's when they ditched the dentist music and went Top-40, eventually as WTHT. Later WBLM/107.5 (which signed on in around 1974) swapped frequencies in the late 1980's with 102.9 by moving 'THT to 107.5 (Country) and 'BLM to 102.9 (Rock).

73,

Peter Q. George (K1XRB)
Whitman, Massachusetts


97.9 used
to be Classical WDCS, but eventually changed frequencies
with Top 40 WJBQ, than at 106.3. 102.9 was originally
WLOB-FM, I understand, and became WGAN-FM, in the 1960's.
WGAN-FM was an elevator music station, from the 1960's until
1985, when it flipped to Top 40. 94.9-WHOM, used to be WMTW,
until some time in the 1970s... <P ID="signature">______________
Peter Q. George (K1XRB)
Whitman, Massachusetts</P>
 
> > >
> > > WCSH (AM 970) was originally in the Congress Square
> Hotel
> > > (hence the calls) on Congress St, around the corner from
>
> > > where WCSH-6 TV is presently. the radio later moved to
> the
> >
> > > Scarborough location (off Elmwood Ave, visible through
> the
> >
> > > trees coming from 295 to Route 1)
> > >
> >
> > Wasn't it in some sort of art-deco building? This would
> > have been late 70s/early 80s.
> >
>
> nope. my first gig in 1979 was at The Mighty 970, in the
> building in the woods at the end of the unpaved road from
> hell (in snow & rain). wouldn't call the building art deco:
> it was pretty bland & boring. the original building was for
> the 970 transmitter only, then at some point ('70's) was
> expanded to accomodate studios & sales offices. the nice
> thing about the building was real windows that could open!
> and the grill out back was nice for cooking burgers&dogs
> during long songs. we had dedicated lines from the TV
> studios (for news) and from Bangor (for the other Maine
> Broadcasting Station) for public affairs sharing. the
> WCSH/WYNZ thing stayed there through 1994 when Saga
> purchased the combo (am970/fm100.9) and moved them to
> Western Ave. WDCS (106.3) moved into the building in the
> woods for a time.
>
> when i first started, Rick Barron & Sue Bernard were the
> news peeps. they did newscasts from a small studio on High
> St at the TV studio. Sue Bernard is now the spokesperson
> for the Catholic Diocese in Portland.
>
> maybe 'DCS was, at some point, in a building on route 1.
> (fuzzy mind barely at work here...)
>
> and the building in the woods may have been considered "art
> deco" before the expansion that made it look like every
> other 1970's era brick boxes. fybush dot com might have
> something in his archives.
>
h> ttp://gallery.bostonradio.org/2005-06/maine/100-02937-th.jpg
>
>
> the photo at this link shows one end of the "original"
> building. the add-on was on the opposite end of what it
> shown in this photo.
>


Back in early 80s WDCS-97.9 had studios in Scarborough in strip mall right at Jct. of Route 1 and 114. I distinctly remember a STL link tower to their transmitter out in Gorham. It was on one of their 4 towers for WDCS AM 1590.

WHOM 94.9 (previously WMTW-FM, WWMT, and WMTQ) was located for many years on Route 26 in Poland Spring at the Olde Ricker Inn with WMTW-TV Channel 8. They were there until about 1983 or so? I was just by there recently and drove thru the Ricker Inn complex. The old mounts for the TV/FM microwave dishes linking to Mount Washington were still there!
 
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