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5515 Melrose Facility

michael hagerty said:
I worked out of the new KCAL newsroom (seen under construction in the YouTube video RadioPatrol posted) on Paramount Stage 21 during the 1992 riots. I had to enter through the 5515 building, where my photographer and I were given daily passes and then escorted through the back of the ground floor of 5515, to a gate separating 5515 from Paramount, and then along Paramount's "3rd Street" and left into Stage 21.

Here's a map of the lot as it exists today: http://www.paramountstudios.com/assets/tsap_lot_map_091918_redstone.pdf

Got to meet and talk with both Jerry Dunphy and Pat Harvey during (infrequent) breaks over those five days. Both very nice people.
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Well I was there twice, once to meet Vivian Porter as I was to host the 93 KHJ "High School Forum" show. Didn't get the job, it didn't pay anything so didn't get the show I guess? Then in 1986 when hired at Smokin' Oldies I had to go to 5515 where the RKO Human resources were. I met Jerry Dunphy at Gelsons Encino when he asked me where the Q Tips were!
 
Hot Hits said:
Well I was there twice, once to meet Vivian Porter as I was to host the 93 KHJ "High School Forum" show. Didn't get the job, it didn't pay anything so didn't get the show I guess? Then in 1986 when hired at Smokin' Oldies I had to go to 5515 where the RKO Human resources were. I met Jerry Dunphy at Gelsons Encino when he asked me where the Q Tips were!
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You should have told Jerry to find the Q tips - "Somewhere from the desert to the sea, to all of Southern California."
 
Along with their tremendous talent, the vibe in that building had to be wind at the KHJ team's back. I was given a look at KRTH studios at 5515 sometime between 1996 and 2005. Years later when I learned the history of the building, I was astounded, humbled and yet... not surprised at all. Seems like much of Hollywood is like that, you'd be amazed what happened somewhere.

https://www.soundonsound.com/people/classic-tracks-frank-sinatra-ive-got-you-under-my-skin
 
Greg Strickland said:
Along with their tremendous talent, the vibe in that building had to be wind at the KHJ team's back. I was given a look at KRTH studios at 5515 sometime between 1996 and 2005. Years later when I learned the history of the building, I was astounded, humbled and yet... not surprised at all. Seems like much of Hollywood is like that, you'd be amazed what happened somewhere.

https://www.soundonsound.com/people/classic-tracks-frank-sinatra-ive-got-you-under-my-skin
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Greg: Thanks so much for the link. A fascinating read. So Studio C (downstairs) is part of what was converted back to the KHJ air studios.
 
Greg Strickland said:
Unless my memory is in error- KRTH located at 5515 for a brief time between Venice and the consolidated facility on Wilshire.
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Hot Hits: Greg is right---in fact, the very beginning of this thread (in 2007) is a discussion about what was being done with 5515 since KRTH moved to Wilshire. I believe KRTH was at 5515 from 2005-ish to 2007. They needed space on Venice for Jack and KROQ.
 
michael hagerty said:
Hot Hits: Greg is right---in fact, the very beginning of this thread (in 2007) is a discussion about what was being done with 5515 since KRTH moved to Wilshire. I believe KRTH was at 5515 from 2005-ish to 2007. They needed space on Venice for Jack and KROQ.
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Very sorry, I knew about Metro Traffic and then Jack & KROQ. I did not know KRTH moved back for those two years while waiting for Wilshire. So much extra space on Venice Blvd, when I was there the AM had 4 Studios and the FM had 4 Studios each, just in that section of the building. Why they could have put KRTH in that silly RV which I'm sure drove off in oblivion
 
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Hot Hits said:
Very sorry, I knew about Metro Traffic and then Jack & KROQ. I did not know KRTH moved back for those two years while waiting for Wilshire. So much extra space on Venice Blvd, when I was there the AM had 4 Studios and the FM had 4 Studios each, just in that section of the building. Why they could have put KRTH in that silly RV which I'm sure drove off in oblivion
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If KHJ and KRTH in the 80s needed four studios each, then Jack and KROQ could certainly use the same capacity.

As for the "silly RV", that went back to KFRC in San Francisco in 1985, served the station through the Magic 61 years, was sold to the NPR station in Monterey, which used it to broadcast the Monterey Jazz Festival for a decade or two, and then fell into disuse for a few years in the NPR-Monterey back lot before it was bought and lovingly restored by former KFRC employee Bill Shakespeare:

https://www.radioworld.com/tech-and-gear/the-sturgeon-resurfaces-in-nevada
 
michael hagerty said:
If KHJ and KRTH in the 80s needed four studios each, then Jack and KROQ could certainly use the same capacity.

As for the "silly RV", that went back to KFRC in San Francisco in 1985, served the station through the Magic 61 years, was sold to the NPR station in Monterey, which used it to broadcast the Monterey Jazz Festival for a decade or two, and then fell into disuse for a few years in the NPR-Monterey back lot before it was bought and lovingly restored by former KFRC employee Bill Shakespeare:

https://www.radioworld.com/tech-and-gear/the-sturgeon-resurfaces-in-nevada
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Neat article about the Sturgeon, I would park near it when it was here. Yes complete overkill, both the AM & the FM had 2 fully built On Air Studios, a 3rd room that just was an unused talk studio with microphones, and the 4th studio was the Production Studio. If the area wasn't so dangerous (and it was) that building could has easily accommodated additional On air studios, much like what we did at Transtar with our 8 + formats
 
sg.news.yahoo.com

CBS Studio Center to Sell for $1.8 Billion

Two real-estate firms have combined to buy Los Angeles real-estate, WSJ reports
sg.news.yahoo.com sg.news.yahoo.com

Woah ViacomCBS has been located in multiple offices in LA over the years from being on the Miracle Mile, Columbia Square, and Television city where Viacom CBS at one point had their LA operations located. Note Miracle Mile is now the Audacy LA offices, Television City is owned managed by a real estate investment group. Columbia Square became the Neuehouse offices. Studio Center is Pending.

https://www.neuehouse.com/houses/hollywood/

Now there are talks that Viacom CBS will sell their Studio city offices. That is uncertain for now if that means that CBS will have to move their news operations to Melrose Ave for now given that the Melrose Ave Paramount Lot location is currently owned by ViacomCBS. For now there is no talks for CBS News, KCAL and KCBS operations to move to the Paramount Lot. If this were to happen it would mean that KCAL-TV would return to it's previous spot on Melrose but with CBS News this time nearly two decades after they left the Paramount lot to join with KCBS-TV.
 
radiohistory said:
Of course, we all know that later, the owners at the time changed the historic KHJ call letters to KRTH-AM on February 1, 1986, and then again to KKHJ on April 1, 1990. In an effort spearheaded by then-CE Jerry Lewine, the FCC returned the KHJ call letters to L.A.'s 930-AM on March 15, 2000.

Now, I've lost track of when 930-AM finally moved from the 5515 Melrose studio site. Maybe one of the readers can give me that information.
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It moved to Hollywood Blvd (5757 IIRC) after the closing with Beasley, sometime after October 1989. It staid there until Liberman moved everything to Burbank.

Immaculate heart closed on it in November, 2014 and moved it out.
 
CBS will almost certainly rent. It would cost a fortune to retrofit soundstages at Paramount for news operations, and they’d be better off using that space for entertainment production or collecting rent from outside productions.
 
M-ONeil said:
Right you are. KHJ and KRTH were on Venice Blvd. when the mangelers changed KHJ (car radio) to KRTH-AM.
Mike O'Neil
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Indeed when KRTH went live and the studio was moved out of Melrose where KHJ and Channel 9 were located, The KRTH call letters were proudly displayed on top of the KHJ xmitter bldg which of course was next to their two freestanding towers at Fairfax and Venice. I often wondered how many non-technical type folks who drove by and were listening to KRTH thought that the stations FM signal actually came from those towers!
 
Heres even a more interesting one. According to this PDF 5515 Melrose ave was also the offices of KTTV Los Angeles under Times Television and CBS Joint venture management in 1949. This was before CBS took over KTSL and converted that station to KNXT Los Angeles.
 

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  • 1949-07-11-BC-OCR-Page-0057.pdf
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RadioPatrol said:
Heres even a more interesting one. According to this PDF 5515 Melrose ave was also the offices of KTTV Los Angeles under Times Television and CBS Joint venture management in 1949. This was before CBS took over KTSL and converted that station to KNXT Los Angeles.
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Reading the .pdf, this was never KTTV office space. They leased two studios within the building—-likely excess space that Capitol couldn’t use, left over from the NBC days.
 

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  • 1950-05-22-BC-OCR-Page-0045.pdf
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Bob_Hudson said:
You really felt a sense of Hollywood history working in the building.

When I did news at KHJ in 79-80, some very hot shows such as Happy Days were filmed in the soundstages right next to 5515 on the corner of Melrose and Gower (old RKO film studios bought by Desilu studios and later by Paramount) and going to my car after work entailed sidestepping the audiences lined up to get into the tapings. Pat Morita from Happy Days used to drink with we KHJ'ers at Nicodell's next door. I also met June Foray (voice of Rocky the Flying Squirrel) and Elvira while sitting at the bar. Elvira was on KHJ TV in those days and our KHJ radio studios were really mixed in with the TV operations. Often times I'd be sitting there typing up my next newscast (there were four teletype machines going to I could not hear the doors opening) when I'd get tapped on the shoulder and some name celebrity would say "excuse my, how do I get to the greenroom (the guest waiting room for KHJ TV's morning chat show). Spread around the building were posters from old RKO movies and a few other relics I recall.

Just down the block, of course is the famous old Paramount Gate which really helped reinforce the feeling that you were for sure working in old Hollywood.
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Mister Hudson, Did you have a part on the record "Ajax Liquor Store" with a guy named Landry??????? I only ask because I'm working up the nerve to go to confession....lol lol lol if you are great record. Lol Mark J. Powell.
 
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