WBCN, Channel-13, and the old Hancock tower

[Scott Fybush]

Now that the FCC history cards are scanned and available to all, we 
needn't guess anymore. (I wish I'd had access to those resources when I 
wrote those bostonradio.org histories 25+ years ago!)

WHDH-FM was originally applied for on 105.7 from Bear Hill in Waltham in 
1947. The 88-108 FM band assignments were realigned in 1948, moving 
WHDH-FM's permit to 94.5 from the old Hancock. It signed on there in 1949.

In 1959, WHDH-FM applied to move to the new WHDH-TV tower in Newton. The 
license to cover that move was granted 10/8/63.

The only major Boston FM station that has stayed in the same location 
longer is, of course, WGBH, now past 70 years on Blue Hill.

s

On 11/29/2021 4:22 PM, A. Joseph Ross wrote:
> Since the FM-128 tower was originally the tower of WHDH-TV channel 5, I 
> would have thought that WHDH-FM would have moved there around the time 
> that WHDH-TV went on, which was November 1957.
> 
> On 11/29/2021 2:44 AM, Eli Polonsky wrote:
>> Though there appears to be no mention of this in station histories on
>> either bostonradio.org or Wikipedia, I seem to recall that the old 
>> WHDH-FM
>> 94.5 also used to transmit from the old Hancock in the 1960's, along with
>> 104.1 WBCN. I'm guessing that it probably did through the 1950's as well.
>>
>> I don't know when the 94.5 transmitter was moved to the "FM-128" tower at
>> 1165 Chestnut St. Newton Upper Falls, but I think it was before. or 
>> around
>> when, WHDH-FM became WCOZ with its original "Cozy" beautiful music format
>> in 1972. I didn't pay much attention to WHDH-FM after it stopped playing
>> rock in the late '60s, so I didn't hear exactly when that happened.
>>
>> EP
>>
>> Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2021 14:55:13 -0500
>> From: Dave<bostonradio.org-list@wsfd.ath.cx>
>> To:boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org
>> Subject: WBCN, Channel-13, and the old Hancock tower
>>
>>> On the upper equipment floor of the old Hancock tower, colocated with
>> the WBCN transmitter was another, non-operating transmitter.  Which may
>> have been a television transmitter.  I have seen an old reference to a
>> Boston Channel-13.  Could this have been it?  And can anyone provide
>> confirmation?  Was it ever licensed/operational?
>>
>> Thanx,
>> Dave
>