Who around the USA (not necessarily in Chicago) has "storefront studios?"

[Prais]

Who around the country (not necessarily in Chicago) has good looking "storefront radio studios?

On Bradley Place the 3 WGN radio studios were built on the second floor and PACKED with stuff. Wally's studio had a (seldom used) piano in it for many years, and Franklyn MacCormacks overnight studio had a carpet and lamps, resembling a living room.

Not only does the present arrangement give "free publicity" (Michigan Ave after all) but the place is MUCH less claustrophobic.

Curious......
On Bradley Pl., what presently occupies the spot where the radio studios were (across from the old tv projection room)?

According to the internet, the weather office (new construction) is "on the East side of the building" (the Campbell ave. side...correct?).

Also, what is in the "newer building" on the Addison St. side?

[DanStrassberg]

I've heard that WCRN (AM) in Worcester MA 830 kHz 50 kW-U DA-2 about 40 miles west of Boston just recently completed relocation to storefront studios in Worcester, a city with a chronically troubled downtown. WCRN is locally owned and, despite dynamite technical facilities, is very much a struggling station. The format is syndicated talk, a small amount of which originates locally.

[Scott Fybush]

Curious......
On Bradley Pl., what presently occupies the spot where the radio studios were (across from the old tv projection room)?

According to the internet, the weather office (new construction) is "on the East side of the building" (the Campbell ave. side...correct?).

Also, what is in the "newer building" on the Addison St. side?

When I toured Bradley Place a couple of years ago, the old radio studios were being used as TV edit suites for the production department. The old studio windows and even a few of the clocks were still there.

The weather office that I saw in 2008 was on the south side of the main first-floor hallway, right across the hall from the big TV studios. The newer construction on the east side (Campbell Ave.) was home to the TV newsroom on the first floor. I think CLTV has now been moved in there as well.

There was a smallish new building on the southwest corner of the complex that was home to the satellite uplinks for WGN America.

As for other stations with notable storefront studios, they're big in Chicago - WLS-TV and WBBM-TV both have downtown storefront studios. So does WCCO-TV in Minneapolis. Storefront radio is less common, at least in big markets - in some small towns, it's still not uncommon to see the radio station right in the front of a Main Street storefront. (The Route 81 stations in Corning, NY come to mind here, and WEBO 1330 just down the road in Owego.)

Right here in Rochester, Entercom's cluster has most of its stations in first-floor windowed studios, too. They're not quite "storefront," being somewhat elevated above street level, but you can see the jocks on the air when you drive by (as I do often on my way to WXXI across the street!)

[Prais]

Scott, I ENJOY your "tours" on your website. Thanks.

Scott said; When I toured Bradley Place a couple of years ago, the old radio studios were being used as TV edit suites for the production department. The old studio windows and even a few of the clocks were still there.

The weather office that I saw in 2008 was on the south side of the main first-floor hallway, right across the hall from the big TV studios. The newer construction on the east side (Campbell Ave.) was home to the TV newsroom on the first floor. I think CLTV has now been moved in there as well.
____________________

Wow - thanks Scott. I'm thinking I was last there in the mid 1970's. I attended Gordon Tech High School, just about 3 blocks West of WGN, and often visited Wally Phillips at the radil station on the second floor.

I'm remembering the South side of the main floor TV hallway - across from "the 3 big studios."

The old design was the dining room (with the west facing window) is farthest WEST, then the prop and set storage - including the studio with the large turntable to revolve cars - where they videotaped car commercials every Thursday (Behrends Lincoln Mercury and others w/ Randy Blake). 

Time marches on!

[lpchad]

107.1 FM WPGU in Champaign, IL

[Ultimajock]

...when I worked for WMCW/1600 in Harvard in 2000-01, we had a huge picture window on the control studio that looked out onto an alleyway and, since there was a small and usually vacant parking space on the triangulated corner of the block across the street, by extension onto North Division Street/Highway 14. Technically, the station's front door was on Johnson Street, but that rear window was for all practical purposes a "storefront" situation. I half expected someone who didn't like my playing an Amos 'n' Andy episode on my Sunday afternoon old-time radio show to try the same stunt WGN suffered last week ;-) ...

[Dave]

WMAQ-TV was the first station in Chicago to have street front studios.  It was modeled (if I'm not mistaken) after The Today Show, which has had street front studios for years.  WLS-TV I believe was next, and now WBBM-TV having street front studios.  Last I remember, WFLD's studios were in the Prudential building below street level.  The street that the Prudential Building (original Prudential building) isn't that busy of a street as Michigan Avenue is.  WGN-TV is too far from downtown Chicago to even have street front studios, but not impossible.  Both WFLD & WGN-TV don't need to have street front studios to have successful newscasts.  They do well without them.  Street front studios can sometimes be distractions to the news anchors if there are people who show no respect for their jobs.

As for how much of the newscasts are done in the street front studios vs the regular news studios:  I believe WLS-TV does nearly all of their news from the street front studios, but last night, I saw the news from their old studios.  WMAQ-TV, if I'm not mistaken, doesn't do the 10pm news from street front studios, but all other news is from the street front studios.  I don't know about WBBM-TV. 

My local PBS station, WYIN-DT won't be doing their news from street front studios anytime soon.  For one, their studios are in an industrial complex in Merrillville Indiana.  And two, even if they can find another location, their news isn't likely to be done in street front studios, due to cost. The local news is low budget, one newscast a day, and only Monday - Friday.  The closest they could get to get to street front studios is setup in a shopping center, as downtown Gary, East Chicago, & Hammond are practically dead (though Hammond is redoing their downtown area, and looks nothing like oldtime downtown in general), and nearby Crown Point has no location big enough in their downtown to support WYIN's facilities.

[Prais]

What's the matter w/the Soutlake Mall in Merrillville???

[Dave]

What's the matter w/the Soutlake Mall in Merrillville???

I don't believe WYIN-DT could afford to operate at Southlake Mall.  Even if they can, I doubt the owners of the mall would allow it at this time, since the mall is doing well.  The mall would have to be desperate for tenants if they weren't doing well.  Not only that, they (WYIN-DT) would need an exterior entrance/exit for the studios.  The mall has hours of 10am - 8 or 8:30pm Monday - Saturday & Sunday 11am - 6pm (hours were cut, due to the economy) wouldn't work out for the TV station.  I don't know how many hours they have staff at the TV station, but they now operate 24 hours a day, and could pose a problem with mall owners.  At least Lake County Indiana isn't like many Cook County Illinois communities, where a local sales tax is added on top of state & county, and can keep certain businesses out of shopping districts.  If Lake County were like that, WYIN couldn't locate at the mall, since whatever space they would need would take away from a business that generates sales, and brings in sales tax.  Besides. it might take a variance in the ordinance to allow a certain business to move into an area that isn't zoned for their business.  I believe that for now, they're staying right where they're at, though they did mention years ago, that they need bigger facilities.

[Tom Wells]

When I was in Fargo, ND, last year, WZFN 1100 AM opened a big new storefront studio.