Whose tower is this?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1940-Press...ork-atop-a-radio-tower-Maryland-/391993642020

Hint: It's WRC, in Washington, DC.
Steeplejack sitting on the capacitance hat, taking a smoke break in 1940....I wonder if he's still around.

He looks like he's over 30 years old, which would make him 108. I kind of doubt it!

Wonder if that tower is still standing. If so, the land is probably worth a lot.

The current tower (for what is now WTEM) is in West Hyattsville Maryland, on the Anacostia River.

Chillum is about 14 miles away, so I suspect the answer is no.

But the land in Hyattsville is also pretty valuable.

That's the old WRC site, east of Chillum. Here's a streetview, with the three towers, including the one with the top-hat:
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.963...4!1sAOM_QXgpZCtaB0GgNTdoqg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
It's shown as WTEM on the FCC site.

So you're saying they still use the same site as they did in 1940? Because Ager Road is the current address.

That's what the coordinates are on the FCC website. Looks like the driveway actually comes in off of Ager Road.

kenglish said:

That's what the coordinates are on the FCC website. Looks like the driveway actually comes in off of Ager Road.

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That's correct. But I'm asking about the photo from 1940. The article said that tower was located in Chillum, which is 14 miles west, closer to the old WRC Nebraska Avenue studio. I'm asking if perhaps the tower location has changed since 1940. It seems to be a different location. Maybe the same tower.

TheBigA said:

So you're saying they still use the same site as they did in 1940? Because Ager Road is the current address.

Click to expand...

Yes. They moved the tower site to Ager road in 1938 according to the FCC's history cards. They did not complete the DA for night service until 1941, which is probably what is being welded on in the photo.

PTBoardOp94 said:

Yes. They moved the tower site to Ager road in 1938 according to the FCC's history cards. They did not complete the DA for night service until 1941, which is probably what is being welded on in the photo.

Click to expand...

Thanks...it was apparently around that same time that WMAL moved its towers to Bethesda. From what I can see, there was some cooperation between engineers at WRC and WMAL. Their studios were in the same building on K street in the 1930s. Of course, the land where WMAL's towers have been was sold last year, and the station has a construction permit to move by next year.

https://www.radiomagonline.com/industry/wmal-tower-site-demolition-begins

Pardon my ignorance, but what is "DA"? And yes, I did search Google and the FCC site. All they say is "A DA number is...." without actually identifying the acronym.

TIA!