When AM Radio Ruled the Airwaves
April Six Word Photo Story Challenge: “Graffiti & Street Art”
Turn the dial to KROC 1340.
“It’s not true that I had nothing on. I had the radio on.” — Marilyn Monroe
Like the Internet of our times, radio in the early twentieth century revolutionized communications. About radio, comedian Milton Berle declared, “…that wonderful invention by which I can reach millions of people… who fortunately can’t reach me.”
In 1934, Gregory Gentling organized the KROC 1340 AM radio station in Rochester, Minnesota. In that same year, he also helped arrange U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt’s visit to the city. The station went on the air on September 30, 1935.
Rochester caricature artist Greg Wimmer painted a vintage AM radio, with the dial set to 1340 kHz, on the KROC station building in 1994. Townsquare Media purchased the station in 2013, and planned to hide the mural under green paint. But public sentiment won over, and the artwork survived.
“Somebody just gave me a shower radio. Thanks a lot. Do you really want music in the shower? I guess there’s no better place to dance than a…
