THE RADIO HISTORIAN
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 WWJ Detroit - Prime Years 1935-1955

These images show some of WWJ's impressive facilities between 1935 and 1955, when it was a powerhouse influential station in the Detroit area. With the Scripps newspaper organization paying the bills, no expense was spared to provide WWJ with the best facilities and resources. (Most of the original prints in this collection are from the radio historian's personal collection, and are reproduced with permission of the Detroit News Archives.)

WWJ Studio Building, 1936

This new WWJ studio building, designed by Detroit architect Albert Kahn, opened in 1936. It was located across Lafayette Blvd. from the Detroit News buildings. An underground tunnel connected the structures.
The building was constructed of steel and concrete. Its 70-foot tall modernistic façade was faced with Indiana limestone.
As an additional artistic touch, a number of granite emblems graced the façade of the structure. They were designed by Swedish sculpture Carl Milles.
This floor plan shows the basement and first two floors of the WWJ building. The third floor (not shown) contained sponsor observation rooms, several more small studios and offices.
This view shows the main entrance and lobby. Audience members passed the reception desk and through the double doors into the main auditorium.
The large auditorium studio was two stories high, and seated 350 persons.
This view shows the auditorium crowd at the studio dedication, September 16, 1936. Radio inventor Lee de Forest is in the front row at right.
Studio 'A' was two stories tall, measured 30 feet by 41 feet, and could accommodate an audience of 80.
Studio 'B' housed this three-rank Aeolian Skinner organ, which could be played from either this studio or the auditorium.
Here is an image of the organ being performed in a program from Studio 'B' in 1936.
This full-page ad in Broadcasting Magazine boasted of WWJ's new broadcasting palace.
A major expansion of the studio building took place in 1957. The structure at left accommodated the new studios for WWJ television.
WWJ moved out of the studio building about 1983. It is now called the Walker-Roehrig Building, and was recently acquired by new owners.
The main auditorium was still intact in 2019, and maintained many of Albert Kahn's original art deco features.

WWJ Transmitter Building, 1936

In 1936, WWJ raised its power to 5,000 watts and moved out of the News building to this new transmitter building and tower on Eight Mile Road.
Like the studio building opened the same year, the transmitter building was also designed by architect Alfred Kahn. Its granite block façade was highlighted by leaded glass windows towering above the doors.
The building was designed to be self sufficient. Besides full local studio and emergency antenna provisions, it had its own generator, oil furnace and even a well for water. There were living quarters for the engineers who manned the site 24/7.
The main entry led to a round atrium with a three-part mural near the ceiling, painted by a student of famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. The Western Electric transmitter can be seen at the rear.
This is a view from the lobby looking right into the office area.
The central part of the mural, seen here, depicts the God Zeus before the microphone directing a parade of WWJ’s varied entertainers.
In this closeup of the left-hand mural, the tail end of the parade is emerging from a cluster of vacuum tubes.
Here is the base of the WWJ 414-foot tower with its ceramic base insulator. The tubing at right connects the transmitter power to the tower.
This is a view of the main audio control room, which looks through a window onto the transmitters.
Chief engineer Walter Hoffman enjoyed the use of this cozy corner office at the transmitter site.
Transformers in the basement isolated the building from the main power grid for increased protection .
Engineer Edwin Boyes operates the WWJ transmitter in this scene from 1963.
Here is another view of the transmitter room, taken in 1956. Transmitter chief Herb Tank is standing at the transmitter; supervisor Al King is at the control desk.

WWJ - Technology Innovator, 1935-1955

In 1938, WWJ pioneered in the experimental transmission of a facsimile newspaper by radio. At left is a Crosley receiver with facsimile printer; the Finch text recorder is at center, and modulator at right.
'So easy, a child can do it.' This publicity photo shows a child retrieving the facsimile news transmitted by WWJ on a Finch home receiver/printer.
Here, a housewife accesses a photo transmitted by facsimile over WWJ. The fax transmissions were made overnight, when regular programming was suspended.
This image shows the inner workings of the Finch home receiver, as employed by WWJ.
Facsimile services were suspended during World War II, but resumed afterwards over WWJ's FM station, as seen in this 1946 view. However, the concept never caught on with the public and was soon abandoned.
For more information about experimental radio facsimile services:
Newspapers of the Air
In 1936, WWJ opened experimental 'ultra-shortwave'station W8XWJ, operating on 31,600 kHz (later 41,000). Here, for the inaugural broadcast, Ty Tyson and aviation reporter James Pierson transmitted live via a shortwave link from the Detroit News airplane.
W8XWJ broadcast from the top floor of the Penobscot Building, the tallest structure on the Detroit skyline. Here, C.H. Wesser operates the 100 watt RCA transmitter and audio console.
The W8XWJ antenna was a vertical whip mounted atop the decorative ball of the Penobscot Building, as shown in this 1937 image. The 100-watt high-fidelity AM signal from this antenna covered the entire Detroit metro area.
Here is WWJ engineer W.A. Jacoby ('Radio Jake') installing a receive antenna for W8XWJ on top of the Penobscot Building, 1936.
W8XWJ was expanded in 1938 with a 500 watt Western Electric transmitter and studio equipment.
Here is another view of the W8XWJ control room in the Penobscot Building, 1938.
This audio equipment rack at W8XWJ includes a professional quality receiver, which probably was used for the pickup of mobile remote broadcasts. Most of the programs heard on W8XWJ were high-fidelity retransmissions of WWJ AM.
This W8XWJ advertisement promoted WWJ's position as a pioneer in the experimentation with new forms of broadcasting.
For a one-day promotion, WWJ gave away free W8XWJ ultra-shortwave converters at the Radio Service Company.
W8XWJ was being promoted by WWJ at this booth at the 1939 Michigan State Fair.
In the end, ultra-shortwave high-fidelity AM was just a stepping stone to FM broadcasting. W8XWJ was shut down in 1940 and replaced with FM station W45D. Here, the new FM transmitter is being hauled up to the 44th floor of the Penobscot Building, 1941.
This two-bay turnstile FM antenna replaced the W8XWJ vertical antenna atop the Penobscot tower. W45D eventually became today's WXYT-FM in Detroit.
For more information about ultra-shortwave AM and the beginning of FM broadcasting:
America's Apex Broadcast Stations
WWJ and the Detroit News shared the use of a news truck. Here is the news crew broadcasting a live event in 1936.
WWJ outfitted this new news truck in 1938, containing the latest technology for live broadcasting and photojournalism.
In this 1938 view, a reporter is preparing for a live broadcasting wearing a backpack transmitter. His signals were sent back to the truck for rebroadcast to the WWJ studios via shortwave.
An interior view of the news truck, showing a custom-built 100-watt shortwave transmitter and assorted receiving equipment.
A Finch facsimile printer in the truck allowed for the reception of wire service photos.
In this 1947 view, the van is parked in front of the WWJ studios. It has been repainted and now advertises the FM station, W45D.
Also in 1947, a smaller news van was utilized for on-location broadcasts. Here, Fran Harris' program 'Wagon On The Way' reports from the location of an automobile-pedestrian fatality. The program was recorded on disk in the van for later broadcast.
In 1938, WWJ engineers pioneered in the development of the first 'shotgun' directional microphone. A standard microphone was atached to a bundle of tuned pipes, eliminating all pickup except in the desired direction. Here, the microphone is being used for crowd noise pickup at a football game.
In the 1950's, acetate disk recording was still in wide use at most radio stations, as recorded tape was still in its infancy. Here is Rog Miller checking the groove modulation on a WWJ disk recording.
In 1955, WWJ was an early broadcaster to convert to magnetic tape recording and playback. Here is engineer Darryl Jones threading an early Magnecord tape recorder.
To continue the tour of WWJ:
WWJ - The Early Years