As a new card-carrying member of the
Museum of Broadcast Communications in
Chicago, I decided it was time for me to pay
them a visit. The museum reopened in June
2012 in a new location after many, many
years of being closed so that its current
building could be remodeled to fit the venue
and will be a certified -green- building in the
near future. In attendance at the opening were
personalities Betty White, Hugh Downes, and
John Mahoney.
The museum is located just north of the
Chicago River. The location of the museum
could not be better, as not only is it in the
heart of downtown, it is just a few blocks from
three major broadcast centers from the
Golden Age of Radio .... the mammoth
Merchandise Mart, once home to the NBC
studios originating the likes of Fibber McGee
and Molly and Lights Out; the Wrigley
Building, home to the CBS outlet WBBM; and
finally the Tribune Tower, original home of
WGN radio, one of the founding outlets of the
Mutual Broadcasting System.
Situated on three floors of its own
modem-styled building, the first floor contains
the admissions desk as well as the door from
The Oprah Winfrey Show studio, and the set
of long-time Chicago Sunday movie staple
Family Classics. The third floor is dedicated to
all things Television, including plaques
honoring various personalities and programs
in various video genres such as Comedy,
Children's, Games, and Reality.
There is also a television studio dedicated
to pioneers Lee Phillips and Bill Bell. The
exhibits also include vintage television: the
actual puppets and costumes used in iconic
Chicago children's TV programs including
Bozo, Garfield Goose, and Ray Rayner: as
well as the actual television camera used for
the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon presidential debate.
However, my trip to the museum drew me
to the second floor where radio broadcasting
is kingl The left hand side of the entrance to
this floor is decked out in radios from various
periods in broadcast history, and an archway
has been fashioned from radios showcased in
see-through shelving.
Much like the third floor, much of the wall
space is lined with plaques dedicated to radio
personalities and iconic radio programs, with
the twist being each of the plaques is
dedicated to one of the current 173 inductees
into the National Radio Hall of Fame. The
plaques are arranged and grouped by genre,
such as Comedy, Drama, Music-Variety, QuizGames,
News-Talk, Sports, and even Disc
Jockeys and Writers-Producers. Interactive
flat-screen TVs allow a visitor to search on
various radio inducties and to hear examples
of their work.
The comedy section also has a great
treat for old-time radio lovers, that being both
original proclamations issued to Jim and
Marion Jordan in 1952 for their twenty years
in broadcasting, but also a non-descript
wooden door that once opened is loaded with
all types of clutter (including a can of
Johnson's GlowCoat) while a clip of Molly
warning Fibber not to open the closet door
plays from a vintage radio inside the closet.
Other features of the broadcasting space
include an honorary degree for -Master of
Innuendo and Snappy Comebacks- issued by
Northwestern University to none other than
Charlie McCarthy, a small working radio
studio and a stage replete with an oldfashioned
microphone to be used for special
presentations.
With both great exhibits, special events
(most recently a 75th Anniversary salute to
Franklin Delano Roosevelt), and radio and
television archives, including National Hall-of-Famer
Chuck Schaden's personal radio show
collection, the Museum of Broadcast
Communications should be a must-see stop
on your next visit to Chicago.
Musum of Broadcast Communications
360 N. State Street
Chicago, IL 60654
Phone: 312-245-8200
Hours of operation:
Tuesday-Saturday 10:00 AM to 5 :00 PM.
Closed Sunday, Monday, and all Federal Holidays.
ADMISSION:
Adults $12.00
Seniors (65 & Older) $10.00
Children (ages 4-12) $6.00
GROUPS: (Minimum 20 guests)
Adults $10.00
Seniors (65+) & Students $8.00
