This post is part of a monthly series that explores the historical applications of building materials and systems through resources from the Building Technology Heritage Library (BTHL), an online collection of AEC catalogs, brochures, trade publications, and more. The BTHL is a project of the Association for Preservation Technology, an international building preservation organization.
Nov. 2 marked the 100th anniversary of America’s first radio station, KDKA of Pittsburgh. This month’s feature examines the various ways radio connects with architecture throughout the BTHL's resources. Although the most obvious connection is a radio that also serves as a piece of furniture or household appliance, a number of publications show radios marketed as “electronics.” The radio, when combined with the phonograph, became part of the “home entertainment center.”
In its early years, the household radio was usually encased in a “console,” usually made of wood and designed to complement a living room. Before TVs came along, families would gather around these radio consoles for entertainment. As technology evolved, the size of radios shrunk, making tabletop versions, such as clock radios, a feature in virtually every room. Later in the 20th century, the radio became less viewed as furniture and more like an appliance housed in a colorful plastic case.
The portable radio was also a fairly early innovation, even though the first versions shown in the BTHL collection weighed in at 5 pounds. The use of “radio” waves became shorthand for wireless devices. Around the same time the remote control was developed for television, the “radio-controlled” remote garage door opener made its first appearance.
The Home, Magazine Circulation Co., Chicago, 1922
This is the earliest publication in the BTHL connected to the term "radio." With just 300 radio stations in America and 1.5 million radio receivers, this publication contained no advertisements for radios, but it did offer detailed instructions on how to create a radio receiver.
Radio, Montgomery Ward & Co., Chicago, 1924
“Radio is rapidly becoming a necessary part of our business and social life,” opens this comprehensive catalog, which was published just four years after the advent of the first radio station. Console radios for the living room took center stage as the radio—as a piece of furniture—paved the way for the televisions in every living room.
Servants of Modern Industry, Monsanto Chemical Co., Springfield, Mass., 1940s
The colorful radio case was fabricated from various plastics during the Streamline Moderne era of design. The use of cellulose acetate “combined with a smooth finish, makes it desirable to use in products that come in contact with the skin.”
Electrical Appliance Equipment and Supply Catalog No. 396, Janney, Semple, Hill & Co., Minneapolis, 1942
This large appliance catalog featured “table top” radios with various broadcast sources. The final item in the catalog is a “lightweight champion” portable radio that weighed just 5 pounds!
Northern Electric Catalogue No. 7: Electrical Supplies, Northern Electric Co., Montreal, 1945
The large console radio as a center of the family living room paved the way for the TV consoles.
Ansley Dynaphone: Superb Tone from Records and Radio, Wood’s Radio-Phonograph Shop, New Orleans, 1940s
Combining the radio with a record player led the way to modern home entertainment centers.
The Complete Motel Contract Supply Corp: Catalog 456, Motel Contract Supply Corp., St. Louis, 1953
The clock radio was the ideal version of a radio for the motel or hotel room.
High Fidelity "Fifty Best Designs," High Fidelity Magazine, 1955
“Good design means good listening.” This publication features many modern designs for home entertainment centers combining, radio, phonographs, TVs, and books.
The Overhead Door, Overhead Door Corp., Hartford, Ind., 1955
The innovation of a remote garage door operator using a “radio receiver” was promoted as a “miracle control.”
Nutone Electrical Built-Ins for the Home, Nutone, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio, 1961
The combination of an intercom and radio was part on the electronic revolution of the “built in.”
