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WCBS HISTORY



WABC (WCBS) ANNOUNCES NEW 'COLUMBIA' ISLAND TRANSMITTER TOWER, 1941

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The above ad was in Fortune Magazine, November, 1941, when what became WCBS was then known as WABC. CBS moved the tower from the appropriately named Columbia Island to a shared transmitter site with WNBC on nearby High Island in 1963. For more about this fascinating radio history go to Jim Hawkins' Transmitter Tour.



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The ad above was also in Fortune Magazine, June 1939. The station's place on the dial was then 860 kc (later 880), offices at 485 Madison Ave. Image below is a water view of Columbia Island.

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THE COLUMBIA ISLAND FERRY

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"CBS executives on board the company ferry for a Saturday afternoon trip to their newly opened transmitter site on Columbia Island in Long Island Sound."

Sturdy, speedy and comfortable is this 30-foot cruiser built-to-order for ferrying engineers, technicians, and other employees of Columbia Island, man-made concrete dot in the middle of Long Island Sound and home of Columbia network's new WABC (CBS) transmitter. Her prow is steel-plated for ice breaking in the winter.

all images courtesy of John Landers



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