Back before 草莓传媒 switched to all-news, the king of Washington-area radio was WMAL 630 AM. Wednesday, the four orange and white steel towers that carried the station鈥檚 middle-of-the-road programming to waiting ears in the 1960s and 1970s were demolished, in 23 seconds.
The towers, in Bethesda, Maryland, were brought down in a carefully-orchestrated series of explosions, to make way for 309 new homes that will be built in a Toll Brothers subdivision.
With neighbors and former neighbors watching from a safe distance, explosives set by Maryland-based Controlled Demolition Inc., one explosive knocked out three legs of each tower, while TNT pushed the towers to fall in the right direction, toward the middle of the large field, located off Greentree Road.
While the demolition of the towers in 2020 paves the way toward development, when the towers stood in 1968, they carried WMAL-AM鈥檚 at-the-time powerhouse programming, including the ratings-leading Harden and Weaver morning show.
WMAL personality Tom Gauger told 草莓传媒 he remembers his first visit to his new employer鈥檚 studios, which at the time were located next to the towers: 鈥淗al Green took me to the studios in the middle of nowhere, Maryland. Was leaving exciting Miami a mistake?鈥�
Gauger told 草莓传媒 it didn鈥檛 take him long to love the station 鈥渁nd our studios out in the country,鈥� within the Capital Beltway.
鈥滻t was so quiet and pleasant, that I did several shows sitting at a picnic table under a tree,鈥� Gauger said. 鈥淲e called them 鈥榦ut the window remotes,鈥� with the engineer handing me a microphone through the control room window.鈥�
Gauger, who went on to become a newscaster with United Press International, said the pastoral location of WMAL was in stark contrast to downtown, Washington, D.C.
鈥淚t was a different time, with neighborhood kids wandering by, and some walking right into the studio,鈥� said Gauger. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 lock the door.鈥�
Tom Hunt, a former neighbor, who grew up in a house across the street from the 聽towers, came with a family member to witness the demolition.
鈥淲e lived in this field, as kids. We鈥檇 play soccer and football out here,鈥� Hunt said.
鈥淲e used to visit the WMAL broadcast house, and Willard Scott and these guys would welcome you in, and they鈥檇 give you these little sailor hats 鈥� little white sailor caps 鈥� they were just really good people.鈥�
Not all the events in the field were athletic in nature.
鈥淲hen we got older, you realized on Saturday nights there were parties out here, in the evenings,鈥� Hunt said.
As he watched the towers come down, Hunt waxed nostalgic about his field of youthful dreams.
鈥淚t鈥檚 exactly as it was, it hadn鈥檛 changed a bit.鈥�
