Want a chance to own a history-making antenna element?
The Society of Broadcast Engineers is auctioning off 14 remaining elements that were part of the Alford Antenna on New York’s Empire State Building.
Bud Williamson, chair of SBE’s New York City Chapter 15, came up with the idea. The Alford, named after its design engineer Andrew Alford, was decommissioned in 2019.
Afterward, some of its 32 elements were given away.
Williamson, whose company Digital Radio Engineering does consulting engineering work and visits Empire with regularity, got word that there were remaining elements of the Alford antenna. They needed to be removed since there were plans to refurbish the room where they were stored.
“What an opportunity,” Williamson said.
So he and Andy Gladding, in about three weeks, moved the 14 elements out of the ESB. He consulted with SBE, and together they came up with the idea to auction them off.
All auction proceeds will go to the SBE Ennes Educational Foundation Trust general scholarship fund.
Williamson said he’s very grateful to the staff at the ESB, especially Rich Hauser of Empire State Realty Trust, for ensuring the elements could be safely transferred out.
First combined antenna
The Alford Antenna was originally installed on the 86th floor of the ESB in December 1965 — the first master antenna system in the United States. Only two stations were in operation at the time, according to a Telos Alliance article on the Alford’s 50th anniversary, but more stations were added over the years.
Ultimately, as many as 16 New York City FMs operated from the antenna array, which made the Alford the largest combined FM station system in the world.
[Related: “Under a Cocoon, ESB Plans for New FM Era”]
A new ERI master antenna was built on the 104th floor of Empire in the 1990 and the Alford was converted to auxiliary use. Once a new auxiliary master FM antenna was assembled beginning in 2017, the Alford was no longer needed.
Now, a unique chance exists to own a piece of that broadcast history.
Full details on how to place a bid are available at the SBE’s website. The auction is open until April 30 and is available to both SBE members and non-members in a blind-bid format.
The minimum suggested bid is $300. The top 14 bidders will be notified and will arrange for pickup on-site in northern New Jersey.
