To celebrate the golden anniversary of the antenna that stands atop it, the Empire State Building will light up in the blue and white of the Audio Engineering Society on Oct. 29. It will also help celebrate the beginning of the 139th International AES Convention, which will take place in New York from Oct. 29–Nov. 1.
The master FM antenna — which serves the area’s broadcast market, the largest in the U.S. by audience size — went into service on Dec. 9, 1965 and allowed multiple stations to broadcast from a single antenna array. Prior to its installation, only one station at a time could broadcast from one antenna at a time.
There will be a special celebration on the Empire State Building’s 67th Floor Conference Room, jointly produced by the AES and Society of Broadcast Engineers. David Bialik, chairman of the 139th AES Convention broadcast and streaming program, and Scott Fybush, Radio World contributor and broadcast tower expert, will make a presentation on the technology of the Andrew Alford/Frank Kear antenna as well as moderate an industry panel.
The celebration will take place Oct. 29 from 6:30–9:30 p.m. Tickets will be available for registered AES attendees on Wednesday, Oct. 28 from 3–7 p.m., and Thursday, Oct. 29, from 8:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. only on-site at the Tech Tours desk at the 139th AES Convention at the Jacob Javits Center.
