History From A Different Angle…NBC Radio City West<\/p>\n
The street on the left is Sunset Boulevard and the next cross street is Vine Street. Less than a block behind the photographer is CBS Columbia Square and less than a block up on Vine Street was ABC’s broadcast center. This whole area was radio city!<\/p>\n
Someone asked recently about when ABC went into that Vine Street location, and I can’t find a date on it, but I did find another interesting fact. When NBC sold the Blue Network to Edward J. Nobles for $8 million, that Blue package contained leases on land-lines and on studio facilities in New York, Washington, Chicago and Los Angeles; contracts with talent and with about sixty affiliates; the trademark and “good will” associated with the Blue name; and licenses for three stations…WJZ in New York, San Francisco’s KGO, and WENR in Chicago.<\/p>\n
The lease allowed them 10 years to relocate the studios and transmitters. That happened in 1943, so, per the agreement, ABC could have operated from the NBC facilities until ’53, but I think they may have only stayed about six or seven years. I think that ABC Radio center was there on Vine before they built KECA TV in 1949 and I think that was at the Prospect Lot. Anyone have any information on the ABC Radio Vine Street facility? Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee<\/p>\n