Television and Radio Antennas and Transmitters
Radio and television antennas and transmitters are often visible in historic images atop rooftops or standing in fields. It is a simple, straightforward way to narrow the date of an image.
The first radio broadcast in Vermont hit the airwaves in 1924 at the University of Vermont. A tall antenna, as seen in the image below, was necessary to transmit radio waves.
As radio broadcasting grew, numerous transmitters were placed atop tall buildings on mountain tops or in large fields. Although the shape and size varies, transmitters are typically tall, skeletal structures. A transmitter rises from the rooftop of the building in the image on the left, and a transmitter stands alone in a field in the image on the right.
The first television broadcast in Vermont aired in 1954. WCAX, which still exists today, set up their studios in South Burlington. During the mid-to-late 1950s, a number of households purchased television sets and placed antennas, seen in the image below, atop their roofs. Satellite television did not appear until roughly the 1980s.