FIRST licensed broadcast radio station in Texas - WRR Dallas / Fort Worth
Posted by: QuesterMark
N 32° 46.560 W 096° 45.576
14S E 709838 N 3628676
WRR originally began broadcasting via AM in 1920 and received its license and call letters on August 4, 1921.
Waymark Code: WM3BT3
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 03/10/2008
Views: 64
From the Handbook of Texas Online link:
One of the earliest broadcasting stations in the United States and the first in Texas was WRR of Dallas, owned by the city, which began broadcasting in 1920 with Dad Garrett as announcer. The station received a provisional license on August 4, 1921.
From the Texas Historical Marker WM3A5K:
WRR Radio grew out of tragic events in early-20th century Dallas. In 1912, a large fire in southern Dallas required all of the city's firefighting units. While they were on the scene, another fire broke out in the northern part of the city. The central fire station's signal lines were destroyed, which prevented a dispatch to the second fire.
To prevent another such tragedy, Henry Garrett, chief of the city's signal department, worked with Western Electric Co. Employees to install a 50-watt radio broadcasting station at the fire department's headquarters. The station's call letters were WRR.
Early listeners interested in the new technology could pick up the station's signal using crystal sets. By 1921, the municipally owned broadcasting station became one of the first in the nation to offer regular entertainment programming.
FIRST - Classification Variable: Item or Event
Date of FIRST: 08/04/1921
More Information - Web URL: [Web Link]
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