Television Set

On April 22, 1948 WTVR-TV, the south’s first television station, signed on the air.  Located on West Broad Street in Richmond, the station’s broadcasting tower, sitting at 1,049 feet above sea level, soon became a local landmark.  In 1990, the original building was greatly expanded and modernized with larger news rooms, studio, and technology upgrades.

Philco, the Philadelphia Storage Battery Company, was a pioneer in early battery, radio, and television production as well as a former employer of Philo Farnsworth, inventor of the cathode ray tube television. Philco began marketing televisions in 1947 with its first consumer television set, the 1948 table Model 48-1000. This set had a 10 inch screen and sold for $395.