Sunday, March 1, 2009

Cleveland Broadcasting Heritage Museum

Since I've had access to the Internet on a regular basis..Over 10 years or so, Ive learned a great deal about the fine Museums in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago that celebrate Television and Radio Heritage..I always thought, with Cleveland's radio history, there should be something similar, albeit on a smaller scale, for Cleveland and Northeast Ohio..

In the last several months, Jim Davison has opened such a museum at the Colonial Arcade, 530 Euclid Avenue in Downtown Cleveland, filled with memorabilia of Radio in Cleveland, mostly from the top 40 era, but also dating as far back as the 1930's. The Museum is located in the basement of the Colonial Arcade, sharing space with the Baseball Heritage Museum.

From a late January visit to the Museum, here are pictures of some of the exhibits:





Early Poster of Alan Freed's "Moondog" Show on WJW Radio..sponsored by "Record Rendezvous"



KYW-1100 Poster with pictures of the airstaff..This would be around 1963-65..


WJW-85 Welcome sign, with a WDOK 102.1 T-shirt, among other items..


Full Page Ad of Bill Randle of WERE-1300 from a Trade Magazine in the 1950's..



Vintage 1960's WCRF-FM Microphone..



1947 WGAR "Range Riders" Calendar


From 2 different eras..a 1944 Presidential Election Poster from WTAM and What I believe are some 1970's pictures of the WGAR Air Staff..


WTAM program schedule from the early 1950's. Johnny Andrews is featured here on the "Morning Bandwagon" Jay Miltner was a featured singer in the WTAM Orchestra before becoming an icon as WNBK/KYW/WKYC announcer for over 30 years..

Uncle Jake Record from Gene Carroll's early days at WEWS. While he had been known as half of comedy duo Gene and Glenn on NBC Radio in the 1930's..Few realize Carroll played Lena the Maid on NBC Radio's Fibber McGee and Molly in part of the 1946-47 season..

These are just a few of the exhibits. The Museum is generally open 11AM-1:30PM Monday-Friday and Admission is free..

11 comments:

  1. Jim Davison has done wonders with the radio museum. I produced a story about it last year for WKSU.
    Here's the link:

    http://www.wksu.org/news/story/22708

    Vivian Goodman

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  2. Ms. Goodman:
    I already knew of and had heard your report on the museum. Very well done..I appreciate you stopping by. It is a real honor..Have a good weekend

    Tim Lones

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  3. Thanks so much Tim for visiting the Museums and for placing these nice photos on your web site-the pictures you took are truly awesome-thanks again and stop by again soon as I am always adding on to it!!! Jim Davison

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  4. Is there any chance at all that this museum will have expanded hours? It definitely sounds like it would be worth a visit-if I could do it during the weekend. I surely hope that TV history will be added someday. What northeastern Ohio needs is something akin to the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago. Anyone who's never been there would absolutely love it!

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  5. We are looking into adding a Television Museum and also looking into opening up the first weekend of each month starting in May...we are also part of this years "Rock-Walk-Run" this May 2nd Saturday, and will opened to the public starting at 7:30 AM...stop down for a tour!!! Jim Davison

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  6. Are there names on the WGAR calender listing the members? I am looking for Eddie Blackburn in the WGAR Range Riders. He was my grandfather and I am looking to surprise my grandmother for her 96th birthday coming up.

    Thank you,
    John M. Stone
    jmstone44109@hotmail.com

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  7. Jim Davison:
    Trying to find info on my Dad, Johnny Baer, who played hillbilly music on WGAR in 1934 on a show sponsored by Hinds Hand Cream. He may have played guitar and sang along with the Ozark Mountain Boys. Then he went to WJAY in 1935 as "Happy-Go-Lucky Singer of the Air". He also played along with Doc McCaulley's Kansas Clodhoppers. Can't find the dates that he was on WGAR, any pictures, or program info. Similarly, info about his time on WJAY can't be found. Johnny Baer died in 2002 and I'm one of his 9 sons who is trying to write up a family history.

    Philip Baer, Pearland, Texas
    philbaer@aol.com

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  8. forgive if this is not the place...but I wanted you to know I just wrote about WERE in the 70's and Gary Dee whom after 50 years in broadcasting I would pick as my number 1 air personality
    http://stanmajor.blogspot.com/

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  9. That's fine, Stan..I apologize for not seeing this sooner..

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  10. Hi! I wonder if someone remember over there a Honky tonk singer of the early '50s, Tennessee Slim (Hollingsworth) who appeared on Cleveland's Barndance Jamboree as "The Tennessee Troubadour". Please, if yes, drop me a line at: xavier.maire@free.fr. Thank you!

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