The WTVR TV Tower is an 843-foot-tall (257 m) free-standing lattice tower in Richmond, Virginia.[1] It broadcasts WTVR-FM and has been in operation since 1953.
| WTVR TV Tower | |
|---|---|
 | |
  | |
| General information | |
| Type | Steel lattice television tower |
| Location | Richmond, Virginia |
| Coordinates | 37°33′59″N 77°28′34″W / 37.56639°N 77.47611°W |
| Completed | 1953 |
| Height | 257 m (843 ft) |
History edit
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Upon completion in 1953, the tower became the tallest in the United States[2] and the second tallest lattice tower in the world after the Eiffel Tower and only surpassed in height by five buildings; the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, 70 Pine Street, 40 Wall Street & the GE Building.[3] It was a substantive increase from previous tallest towers of any type built in the United States, the NSS Annapolis. It remains to this day the tallest man made structure in Virginia.[4]
The tower is currently only used by WTVR-FM. Even though WTVR-TV and WTVR-FM still share the same WTVR call letters they are no longer affiliated with each other and are under different ownership. WTVR-TV no longer broadcasts from this tower. WTVR-TV shares a transmitter with PBS member stations WCVE-TV and WCVW. WTVR-TV stopped transmitting from this tower during the analog to digital conversion in 2009.[5] The tower is still called the WTVR-TV tower because of its history, despite no longer broadcasting from this tower. On November 1, 2017, iHeartMedia announced that WTVR-FM, along with all of their sister stations in Richmond and Chattanooga, would be sold to Entercom due to that company's merger with CBS Radio.[6] The sale was completed on December 19, 2017.[7] The tower is considered part of the Richmond skyline and can be seen for several miles around. WTVR-TV's West Broad studios is located directly next to the tower. The station used a graphical version of the tower in its news opens for several years in the 1980s and early 1990s. The tower is also the namesake of the Tower Building, a National Register of Historic Places-listed structure located across the street.[8]
Stations edit
Radio edit
Currently only WTVR-FM transmits from WTVR Tower.[9]
| Callsign | Frequency | Format | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| WTVR-FM | 98.1 | Adult contemporary | Entercom Communications |
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "WTVR TV Tower - The Skyscraper Center". Skyscrapercenter.com.
- ^ "WTVR-TV Studio Transmitter, Richmond | 130636 | EMPORIS". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on July 2, 2020.
- ^ "The World's Tallest Buildings 1960". Tudl0867.home.xs4all.nl.
- ^ "Richmond | EMPORIS". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on July 3, 2020.
- ^ "TV Query Result : WUDW-LD, VA RICHMOND". Transition.fcc.gov. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
- ^ "Entercom Trades Boston & Seattle Spin-Offs To iHeartMedia For Richmond & Chattanooga - RadioInsight". Radioinsight.com. 1 November 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
- ^ "Consummation Notice". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. December 19, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ^ Friedberg, Dara (May 2017). "Tower Building Final Nomination" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
- ^ "TV Query Result : WTVR-FM, VA RICHMOND". Transition.fcc.gov. Retrieved 13 December 2021.