What SD station has longest studio occupancy?

[Bob_Hudson]

Driving by the former KCBQ radio ranch in Santee may me think about how many San Diego radio stations have, in the last few years especially, moved from their longtime studios to someplace new and/or different. So which station has occupied the same studios (i.e. same building) for the longest time? My vote would go to KFMB AM/FM who seem to have been on Engineer Rd forever. The next longest would have to be, I'd guess, KYXY. Beyond that, is there any station in town that has occupied the building for more than five years?

 

[RadeoEngineer]

KSON/KBZT/KIFM have all been on Murray Canyon Road over five years. KSON was moved there in 1988.

 

[Garrett]

Driving by the former KCBQ radio ranch in Santee may me think about how many San Diego radio stations have, in the last few years especially, moved from their longtime studios to someplace new and/or different. So which station has occupied the same studios (i.e. same building) for the longest time? My vote would go to KFMB AM/FM who seem to have been on Engineer Rd forever. The next longest would have to be, I'd guess, KYXY. Beyond that, is there any station in town that has occupied the building for more than five years?

As far as I know....

Nope, not forever! KFMB moved from 5th & Ash Downtown sometime in the late 70s or early 80s.
I belive KGTV has been at it's original broadcast site longer off Hwy 94, at what is the Original KOGO NBC 10 building (10 was NBC? Yeah, no kidding!) I think before that they were in the El Cortez?

KNSD used to broadcast from Kearny Mesa right near Balboa and 163, back from their old Storer KCST days. That building was demolished in the late 90's I think...

Let's see, 106.5. I'm thinking they were on Gibbs drive in Chula Vista for a little while? Or was that just the business office? Then some building in Kearny Mesa near the airport, and then to the "Mini-Storage" where they shared the building with KOGO and KCBQ, and later KIOZ, and KGB.

The Gannet stations, 102.9 and 1130 were right near Fry's and Walmart for a while (and the building even used to say KSDO) which you could see from I-15. KPOP was there also for a short while. I ended up working at 102.9 when they moved next to 91X, Xtra 690 and KHTS 93.3 after Jacor took over and made 102.9 into the 2nd incarnation of KJoy.

I believe that 103.7 (the original KJQY) was previoulsy in Kearny Mesa not far from XETV Fox 6 before moving in with Kyxy. Kyxy has been in it's location as long as I can remember.

KUSI used to be somewhere in the Miramar-MiraMesa area near USIU University (who owned the station, hence the calls KUSI), before moving to where it is now.

KBZT, 94.9 broadcast from one of those two weird shaped buildings next to Sear in University Town Center back when it was still Y95, and remained that way up until it was KBest. Somewhere in there, they were sold from Sandusky broadcasting to Anaheim Broadcasting and then to Jeff-Pilot, who moved them in with KSON. KIFM used to broadcast off of I-5 in La Jolla, near the new Mormon Temple, accross the highway from La Jolla Village Square. Btw, unless they've moved, those same studios are now the location of Sports radio 1090 (Mighty, XX, whatever).

KSON's FM frequency, if I understand it, was once Top 40 KSCA and used to broadcast from The Grove mall in Lemon Grove (before it was converted into a strip mall in the mid 90's).

And we all know KCBQ FM was, but also Sets 102.1 for a brief period there in Santee.

If I understand it correctly...

 

[RadeoEngineer]

In 1975 106.5 KPRI was in Sorrento Valley. I think they moved to somewhere off Balboa around 1977.

 

[Bob_Hudson]

In 1975 106.5 KPRI was in Sorrento Valley. I think they moved to somewhere off Balboa around 1977.

Yep, Balboa and Genesse: I worked there in 1979. The rest of the building was full of engineers from some sort of hush-hush defense contractor and the KPRI staff was well known to them for the dope-smoking gatherings in the stairwells.

 

[Lopaka]

Was there a time when KPRI had its offices in and its transmitter on a medical building in the Pill Hill area?

 

[Garrett]

Was there a time when KPRI had its offices in and its transmitter on a medical building in the Pill Hill area?

"Pill Hill?"

Where the heck is that?

 

[Bob_Hudson]

Was there a time when KPRI had its offices in and its transmitter on a medical building in the Pill Hill area?

Yes: in the 1960's KPRI was located in the basement of a building on Sixth Avenue across from Balboa Park. The area was called Pill Hill because of all the doctor's office's. KPRI's studios were actually beneath the first floor pharmacy in that building ,which was otherwise mostly occupied by MD's. In the late 60's KPRI began broadcasting "underground" music during the late night and overnight hours. Because of the location beneath the pharmacy, one DJ said the entire station literally was "under drugs." I wish I still had the reel to reel tapes I'd recorded of that underground format: it was the best radio San Diego ever had, truly innovative. Not long after "underground" began on KPRI, KCBQ started a Saturday program called "Funderground," which played the likes of Jimi Hendrix.

 

[sdwulfdawg]

Yes: in the 1960's KPRI was located in the basement of a building on Sixth Avenue across from Balboa Park. The area was called Pill Hill because of all the doctor's office's. KPRI's studios were actually beneath the first floor pharmacy in that building ,which was otherwise mostly occupied by MD's. In the late 60's KPRI began broadcasting "underground" music during the late night and overnight hours. Because of the location beneath the pharmacy, one DJ said the entire station literally was "under drugs." I wish I still had the reel to reel tapes I'd recorded of that underground format: it was the best radio San Diego ever had, truly innovative. Not long after "underground" began on KPRI, KCBQ started a Saturday program called "Funderground," which played the likes of Jimi Hendrix.

When I moved to San Diego in 1987 there was a Low Power TV station which occupied a suite on the top floor. They were called Bay 63. They really tried to do alternative TV but Cox Cable -- more interested in humongous corporate profits and putting on more and more shopping channels -- killed the station because they would not put it on citywide.

God I hate Cox Cable way worse Microsoft.

 

[doublecashkgb]

The only longtime broadcasting station I can think of that has had the same location has to be KGTV
formerly KOGO-TV, the former home for KOGO AM & FM. In its prime it was known as "Broadcast City".
After Time-Life's sale & split up of the properties, for a short time KOGO relocated just down the street
from the old location. But I imagine Broadcast City has been there since 1958 or so. It gets my vote.

 

[Garrett]

It must have been great back then, because it seems like it was with the same level as the main road that went by it. Now, with Hwy 94 (built within the last 20 or 30 years), You can barely see the famous sign going west bound.

 

[doublecashkgb]

You're right Garrett, the many revisions on 94 have changed the elevation of the facility. If you take the service road, I bet the building housing the 70's era KOGO studios is still there. Back in the KOGO Middle of the road days they would often refer to their location, "it's a sunny 72 here at Broadcast City". The other thing I remember is KOGO did a lot of remotes, with a fully equipped mobile studio including turntables, & cart machines. The other difference back then is most of the remotes did not involve the DJ hard selling or really doing my pitching to come down to the site. Some were at public places like the Zoo or the bay, other remotes were at the grand opening of a Fed Mart or Whitefront, but the focus was on seeing the DJ doing his show, not hard selling the sale or event.