© Mark Ollig
“The managing director of the British Broadcasting Company, J. W. Reith, says that television, the transmission of pictures as well as the voice by radio, is theoretically quite possible,” the Minneapolis Journal reported May 7, 1924.
Around 1923, Minnesotan Stanley E. Hubbard organized WAMD (“Where All Minneapolis Dances”), a 1,000-watt radio station at the Marigold Gardens Ballroom. He had a small studio and a transmitter there.
The Minneapolis Star newspaper announced Saturday, Feb. 21, 1925, “The station [WAMD] will broadcast on 234.8 meters [1,277.7 kilocycles] and will operate between 2:45 and 5:30 p.m. Sunday.”
WAMD began broadcasting live music Feb. 22, 1925, from inside the Marigold Gardens at 1336 Nicollet Ave. in Minneapolis. In July, the station moved to the downtown Radisson Hotel at 35 S. Seventh St.
Hubbard started KSTP radio March 29, 1928. In August, he became interested in experimental radio picture broadcasts, employing a mechanical scanning system that used optical still images transmitted via radio signals.
Mechanical scanning utilizes rotating disks, drums, and mirrors to capture and display images, then breaks them down into horizontal lines for transmission and reconstruction.
KSTP broadcast still images over its radio waves four times a week, but only a few people had a mechanical scanning television set (called a televisor) to see them.
In 1928, amateur radio hobbyists experimented with constructing television receivers. One example had a housing measuring 23-by-26-by-12 inches, featuring a 1.5-by-1.25-inch glass screen, with its internal mechanical scanning system powered by five 45-volt B (dry cell) batteries.
In 1933, Dr. George A. Young obtained a license for Minnesota’s first experimental television station, W9XAT, which used mechanical scanning-disc broadcasting equipment.
The picture quality was reportedly “subpar,” and the audio was transmitted over his WDGY radio station on 780 kHz until 1934, then on 1130 kHz until he ended his experimental television broadcasting in 1936.
In 1938, 100 experimental television sets were reported to exist in the country, mainly in the possession of corporate executives and manufacturing engineers testing this new visual medium.
In August 1939, Hubbard arranged a public demonstration of television viewing of an American Legion parade via a closed-circuit broadcast on six television sets at the Radisson Hotel.
Minnesota’s first commercial television station, KSTP-TV, began broadcasting Tuesday, April 27, 1948, on channel five with a test pattern, followed by a Minneapolis Millers baseball game at 3 p.m. and narrated newsreels.
The Radio Manufacturers Association, which tracked radio and television statistics, reported that more than 6,000 television sets were in operation in the Twin Cities area Aug. 3, 1948, with many of them in hotels, bars, and restaurants.
WTCN-TV (now KARE-11) started broadcasting on channel four July 1, 1949.
During the 1940s, TV sets were expensive and primarily found in affluent homes and businesses. RCA, Zenith, General Electric, Admiral, Emerson, Andrea, Philco, and DuMont were the leading manufacturers of televisions.
Decreasing prices, the growing number of television programs, and the wonder of the new technology drove people to purchase TVs.
The Twin Cities joined major television networks Sept. 30, 1950, via coaxial cable and radio relay transmission towers.
NBC, CBS, and ABC provided the majority of national programming during the 1950s. The DuMont Television Network also offered national broadcasting from 1946 until 1956.
In 1952, WTCN-TV’s channel four license was sold and used for the broadcast frequency of WCCO-TV.
In 1953, WTCN-TV reappeared with WMIN-TV in a time-sharing arrangement on channel 11 using its VHF frequencies of 198 to 204 MHz.
In 1955, WMIN-TV sold its share of channel 11 to WTCN-TV, allowing WTCN-TV to begin broadcasting full-time.
In January 1953, KSTP-TV became the first television station in Minnesota to broadcast at the maximum allowed 100,000 watts by the FCC, reaching viewers in Brainerd and Duluth.
NBC’s color broadcast Jan. 1, 1954, of the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, CA, marked the first time such a transmission was available nationwide.
It is estimated that around 100 color television sets, likely prototypes or early production models, across the country received the broadcast, as manufactured models only appeared a few months later.
An April 26, 1954, Minneapolis Star newspaper ad showed the RCA Victor CT-100 color television set with its Tri-Color Picture Tube and a 15-inch screen selling for a pricey $1,000 ($11,746 today).
In 1957, Twin City Area Educational Television from the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus began broadcasting on channel two.
KSTP-TV made history Jan. 1, 1961, by becoming the first station to broadcast its entire program schedule in color.
In 1954, WTCN-TV channel 11’s children’s program “Lunch With Casey” was hosted by Casey Jones (Roger Awsumb) with Roundhouse Rodney (Lynn Dwyer). The same year, WCCO-TV began “Axel and His Dog,” featuring Clellan Card as Axel Torgeson and Mary Davies as Carmen the Nurse.
In 1960, “Romper Room,” hosted by Mary Betty Douglass, known as “Miss Betty,” aired on WTCN-TV and moved to KMSP-TV channel 9 in 1962.
By 1966, many programs were broadcast in color. I clearly remember hearing, “The following program is brought to you in living color on NBC.”
Each week, from 1966 to 1969, I watched “Star Trek” on KSTP-TV channel five.
And yes, the program was brought to me in living color on NBC.
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| A Minneapolis Star newspaper ad for the RCA Victor CT-100 color television (published April 26, 1954) |