A really quick look at 60 years of Chicago TV

[old_tv_nut]

The Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago finally received the $6 Million grant promised from the State of Illinois, and can proceed with building.

The forwarding of the grant was announced during a fund-raising dinner last week. A highlight of the evening was a 10-minute video incorporating thousands of images and sounds from the past 60 years of the medium. It’s now accessible online on the museum’s website. To view it, go to http://museum.tv/ and click on the link that says “Chicago Television: The Video.”

[pugs5061]

Having been in the area for the last 45 years, that was neat.

[AUdubon5425]

That's nice to see Chicago's broadcasting history is being so well preserved.

There was an attempt at a museum of broadcasting for New Orleans, and tons of historical photos, equipment, film...you name it...was accumulated. But funding would never come through.

"There would be displays of old radio sets, turntables, tape machines. microphones, teletypes, control boards and various other broadcast equipment, some in working condition and some just for display. Scripts and sound bites from old shows, news reports, and commercials as well as complete shows will be available in public archives."

Those hopes were crushed by the indifference of the politicians and educational institutions of our area - I will have to refrain from further explanation as I do not want to get on a political bend...

"The lack of funding and general interest on the part of out-of-state owners of the New Orleans broadcast facilities has forced us to shelve plans for an actual Broadcast Arts Museum in New Orleans. We have opted for an online INTERNET MUSEUM until interest and support is generated for a REAL museum.
Our collection of donated vintage radio and television broadcast equipment, after being moved in and out of donated temporary quarters three times, was again temporarily housed in a building bought and recently sold by U. N. O. Due to a lack of funds and the lack of interest on the part of the out-of-state owners of the New Orleans broadcast facilities and the New Orleans institutions of higher learning, we were unable to acquire another storage facility and were forced to abandon the collection. All of the collection was trashed by the new owners of the former storage location. It was a terrible loss to the city and to those who would engage in research into the wonderful broadcasting history of New Orleans."

By the way, my understanding is the University of New Orleans bought the building and basically "flipped" it to a condominium developer.http://www.neworleansradiotheatre.org/bamgno.html