John Schaefer: Today, the city of New York takes its place in the field of radio broadcasting. This is the new municipal station, WNYC, broadcasting for the first time on a frequency of 570 kilocycles from the 25th floor of the municipal building in downtown Manhattan. Just outside the windows of our studio here, bright new letters spell out WNYC nearly 8 feet high, glowing like beacons in a darkened sky.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is a marvelous evening in this great and wonder city of these United States, where the government of the United States began, and now, where the public can hear for the very first time the voice of their government, by and for the people free on the radio. No less than $50,000 of public investment has been made in this valuable enterprise, the likes of which has not yet been seen anywhere else in the world. Now to begin tonight's unique and historic program, I welcome Ms. Marion Fine and the police department band, performing our national anthem.

[MUSIC - Marion Fine & Police Department band: The Star-Spangled Banner]

Say, can you see

By the dawn's early light

What so proudly we hailed

At the twilight's last gleaming?

Whose broad stripes and bright stars

Through the perilous fight

For the ramparts we watched

Were so gallantly streaming?

And the rockets' red glare

The bombs bursting in air

Gave proof through the night

That our flag was still there

O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave

For the land of the free and the home of the brave

[applause]

John Schaefer: That was the police department band and Ms. Marion Fine singing The Star Spangled Banner on WNYC, New York's municipal radio station. Tonight is the first time we take to the airwaves, and we have well over 100 souls up here on the roof of the municipal building, every one of them a friend and supporter of this new enterprise. At nine o'clock, this is WNYC. Although it is possible that a century from now, a federal commission, perhaps a federal communications commission, will require future announcers to say something more complicated, like, you're listening to WNYC FM HD and AM New York, WNJT FM, 88.1 Trenton, WNJP 88.5 Sussex, WNJY 89.3 Netcong, and WNJO 90.3 Toms River, but that is for a future date and time. Now it's time for more music, so we welcome Vincent Lopez and his orchestra performing Nola by Felix Arndt.

[MUSIC - Felix Arndt: Nola]

[applause]

[MUSIC - What'll I Do: Irving Berlin]

What'll I do

When you are far away

And I am blue

What'll I do?

What'll I do?

When I am wond'ring who

Is kissing you

What'll I do?

What'll I do with just a photograph

To tell my troubles to?

When I'm alone

With only dreams of you

That won't come true

What'll I do?

[instrumental]

What'll I do with just a photograph

To tell my troubles to?

When I'm alone

With only dreams of you

That won't come true

What'll I do?

[applause]

John Schaefer: Vincent Lopez and his orchestra performing What'll I Do, a recent song by Irving Berlin. We might add, for the benefit of those who've tuned in late, that your city station is WNYC. Tonight, its service to the people begins with a celebration. Dozens of friends gathered here in our beautiful lobby, which has an elegant moorish design, complete with colorful lights and even a working fountain. All of it here by donation of Wanamaker's department store.

The man you'll hear from next is Mr. Rodman Wanamaker. If you don't know this great man, I will tell you. In Philadelphia, they call him a second Benjamin Franklin. His family's successful business gave him the means to generously endow many endeavors in arts and education. Mr. Wanamaker is not only focused on his work. No, he's also a lover of acapella music, beautiful furniture, priceless tapestries, and fine jewelry. He's the founder of the Professional Golfers' Association of America, the PGA, because Saturdays are for the boys. Rodman, over to you.

Sarah Jones: What a very special introduction, Tommy. We're here tonight to commemorate a seismic moment in New York City history. The arrival of WNYC, a municipal radio station that promises to make significant waves, air waves that will reach far beyond New York, all the way across this nation, from sea to shining sea. New York, with its grit and glamour, stands tall as a beacon of culture, art, commerce, political movements, cutting-edge thought, and the searing belief that anyone who sets foot on this island can be born anew, much like the city. It's high time that we democratize and share all of the gifts our city has to offer for a wider audience to appreciate.

It is with great pleasure that I announce to you tonight the 96th mayor of New York City, John Francis Hylan, who played a vital role in seeing WNYC come to fruition. As you'll soon witness, Mayor Hylan is a man of so many words, just a myriad tapestry, a cornucopia of language that seems to flow forth from his mouth just as the mighty Hudson flows down from the mountains. Before we welcome our very own Mayor Hylan, I'd like to offer a tune from my Princeton Glee club days in appreciation of his Irish heritage. Oh, Danny boy. The pipes, the pipes are calling.

John Schaefer: It seems that even the weather wants to be a part of this historic event the first night of WNYC.

Brooke Gladstone: Thank you, Rodman. You are a good egg. There we go. The city of New York employs tonight a new medium for the entertainment and education of the people, the municipal radio broadcasting station in the field of entertainment by radio. For the past three years, private broadcasting stations have performed a most commendable civic service. Today we are told that many artists, heretofore content with the flowers of publicity and popularity garnered through radio performances, are now seeking something which appeals more to the purse as well as to the heart. Pocket filling is becoming the order of the day.

Viewing the future situation of the radio from many angles, one may, with good cause, anticipate a retrenchment rather than an expansion of free radio entertainment. It would not be well for the city of New York to be laggard in recognizing the possible evil effects of a discontinuance of free radio service. Countless thousands could not afford to bear an expense other than the original cost of the radio. Hence, the responsible officials of the city of New York have opened station WNYC for the benefit of the people, not alone of New York, but for all the nation to whom this city belongs.

To ensure the uninterrupted program of recreational entertainment for all the people is one of the compelling reasons for the installation of municipal radio public broadcasting. To assist the police in the work of crime prevention and detection, the fire department in fighting fires, and the health department in safeguarding the physical well-being of New York's gigantic population are also some of the conspicuous services to be rendered by this municipal plant. The improvement of the people in every walk of life through the educative power of the radio may also be considered one of its paramount purposes.

Good government, depending as it does upon an intelligent, active, and alert citizenship, demands the employment of every possible means for a wider diffusion of authoritative information upon municipal matters. Municipal information, formally available only after patient perusal of reports, is now to be brought into one's home in an interesting, delightful, and attractive form. Facts, civic, social, commercial, and industrial, will be marshaled and presented by those with their subjects well in hand. Talks on timely topics. Programs sufficiently diversified to meet all tastes, with musical concerts, both vocal and instrumental, featured at all times, should make tuning in on municipal radio pleasant as well as profitable.

Through the employment of this modern and very effective means of transmitting information and aroused public interest in the municipal government may logically be expected to ensue upon a broader understanding, a clearer knowledge, and a deeper appreciation of its functioning. It follows as the night the day that the more enlightened the citizenship, the better it becomes. The so-called our inarticulate public and the voiceless masses are the flarebacks to days when government were administered for the benefit of the favored few. An enlightened citizen interest, militantly expressed, is now in keeping with the trend of the times.

We are prepared to tell you over your own radio just exactly what it is being done in your city to make it a better place to work in and to live in essential information as to the progress and problems of city government. This will provide a fact basis upon which the people may offer constructive criticism. And criticism is what is needed. Criticism is what we need. Send along your suggestions. You are as free to write as the very air which carries these words to your home. Write us. Letters do bring brains and hearts together.

If you close the door of your lips or decline to give expression to your thoughts on pertinent municipal matters, we shall have to guess what is in your mind. Guesswork is a very sandy foundation upon which to build any permanent structure. Without the support of an enlightened citizenship, no administration can effectively discharge its full obligation to all the people. An enlightened citizenship is one that appreciates its obligation as well as its privileges. I thank you.

[applause]

John Schaefer: This is WNYC, New York City's municipal station, broadcasting live with your mayor, John Francis Hylan. Now we go back to some music. Vincent Lopez and his orchestra with the great Catalan violinist Senor Alonso.

[MUSIC- Franz Schubert: Ave Maria]

[applause]

John Schaefer: That was Senor Alonso all the way from Spain with his unique rendition of Ave Maria by Franz Schubert. This is the new municipal station, WNYC, broadcasting from the municipal building in downtown Manhattan. Next we welcome a most industrious public servant, the borough president from Queens, Mr. Maurice E. Connolly.

Sarah Jones: I'm over the moon to be here tonight, representing the brightest jewel in the city's crown of boroughs, Queens. She's growing fast. How fast, you might ask? Well, the bookish lad in my office who keeps the books, he'll tell me that it's at an exponential rate, and he knows his onions. Each and every day seems as though there's another bridge being erected, a road being paved, or a new subway line added. I should know. I signed the contracts to get them there. It is a sight to behold. In Queens, you will see row upon row of fine new homes and brand new parkways that pass through our hilly and wooded territory and offer drivers relaxing views of the ocean and the sound.

Under the ground, we are building some of the largest sewer systems that the world has ever seen to drain and make usable more land for our growing population. Queens is being planned not only as one of the biggest cities in the world, but along the lines that will make it one of its most beautiful and comfortable. Queen's Boulevard, which we have widened and extended from Long Island City all the way to Jamaica. It's now wider and longer than that great marvel of Paris, the Champs-Élysées. Future generations will walk its serene, tree-lined path and revel in a boulevard that's more glamorous and prosperous than the Champs-Élysées or anything. Anything to be found in all of the old world. This work would have been impossible had it not been for the confidence of our citizens and the work we are doing for the borough and for the future of our borough.

Tonight, the citizens have inspired another great municipal project. Our modern world moves fast, and New Yorkers are on the tip of its axis, watching it spin in real time. The industrial revolution made us closer to one another more than ever. Our new trains, bridges, and roads can physically take us from one borough to the next far quicker than we'd ever imagined. But this radio broadcast crackling through space, disconnects us in an instant due to mad leaps of human ingenuity and invention. You could right now be sitting at your dining room table in Manhattan, listening to the exact same thing at the exact same time as me sitting at my house in Queens. That, my friends, is magic.

Now, if you're familiar with your Merlin myths, magic is nothing to be toyed with, which is why making WNYC a station built and run for the public, the people of New York, is absolutely critical. In a free and open society, the public must have unfettered access to the information that affects their day to day, from the mundane to the monumental. The secret of freedom lies in educating people, whereas the secret of tyranny is in keeping them ignorant.

[applause]

Freedom, why our parents and their grandparents before them traipsed halfway across the globe to set foot on Ellis Island. My dear dad could have just raised eight children and farmed potatoes in Ireland, but he came to Queens to raise eight children and farm potatoes, because here he has freedom. Freedom is only as sacred as the society that respects and protects it. I can promise you, as a public servant, WNYC will act heretofore as a vital public resource, safeguard it from those who wish to exploit its purpose and influence. Stay informed, stay vigilant, and don't forget who you are. A card-carrying, tax-paying citizen of the greatest city there is, New York.

[applause]

John Schaefer: At this point, we need to make a quick trip to the present, but don't worry, we'll get back to the funny voices in 1924, right after this.

[music]

[applause]

John Schaefer: This is your municipal radio station, WNYC. It is my great pleasure to now introduce you to the man who made possible everything you hear on these airwaves. He's Mr. New York. That's right. He's been in a love affair with this city his whole life, and now he's even taken her name. In his role as our city's greeter, he has welcomed countless luminaries. People who time will never forget. Legends that future generations will surely treasure. People like Ukulele Ike, Florence Lawrence, and, of course, Artemus Ward Accord. This is your commissioner of bridges, plants, and structures, Grover Whalen.

[applause]

LaFontaine Oliver: It gives me great pleasure to announce station WNYC here to join the great and growing fraternity of free broadcast media in America. Tonight, we are celebrating a win, a real win, for this great city of ours. This didn't happen without a fight. The theme of this fight this evening and the future of our fledging station is one of shared victory over the greedy self-interest of corporations. Your mayor, Hylan, and I had to fight for the public interest of the great citizens of New York. Your interests, I can say, as the son of a proud lifelong Democrat, are more precious than gold.

Let us turn back the hands of time briefly. In March of 1922, a proposal came before the board of estimates and apportionment for the establishment of a municipal wireless broadcasting station, radio. This exciting new medium would make public information and noncommercial entertainment readily available to the people of the city of New York. Let me say that again. The people, not an elite, chosen few. Yet we faced significant challenges to this bold initiative. We had formidable opponents. The Radio Corporation of America, the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, the General Electric Company, the Western Electric Company, and the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. Companies who sought to strongarm us through a monopoly, one that would see them controlling the airwaves with barely hidden corporate self-interest.

I believe that the people of the city of New York, with its million radio listeners, should be made aware of the attempted corporate coercion meant to thwart the mission of your station, WNYC, one that seeks to provide maximum service and greater happiness to the public. We threw down the gauntlet and fought back against this far-reaching, injurious scheme. With the backing of the Federal Trade Commission, we won the day. Now, with this municipal radio, by and for the people, we will not have to take our religion or education or our politics from a radio trust. The country, not just New York, will be able to listen to a station not operated for commercial gain. WNYC's daily broadcast will serve as a tool of unification for our bustling metropolis, home to an ever-expanding population of workers, dreamers, and seekers.

You see? I was born on the lower east side to Irish parents, alongside a population of Ashkenazi Jews, Sephardic Jews, Italians, Poles, Ukrainians, and many more individuals who sought a better life, one with dignity and decency. As a New Yorker, I have a common cause and experience with people from all over the world. This experience, this commonality, has formatted a belief that this city of ours should be a hospitable city. Even as our leaders in Washington pass a law that has closed America's doors to so many eager newcomers, here in New York, we say, "Welcome, everyone who wants to be part of the great melting pot of America."

[applause]

When I have had the honor of welcoming visitors on behalf of the mayor and the people of New York, nothing made me gladder than to hold a ticker-tape parade with its cascades of paper swirling through the air, rows of feet dangling off of fire escapes, and city dwellers waving from a window sill, faces twinkling with joy. These parades are not a mere frivolity or free entertainment, though this is a bonus. They help to bring together diverse groups in a rapidly growing and changing city.

The parade isn't just a crowd marching down a busy street. Rather, it is the story of different walks of life convening on solid ground together. The enduring ethos and revelry of our cities famed ticker-tape parades will now find purchase on the airwaves of WNYC to tell a similar story of unity over differences, of public good over private interests, and of future New York full of endless possibilities. I thank you all for joining us as we usher in a bold, exciting new era of information and entertainment.

[applause]

John Schaefer: Commissioner of bridges, plants, and structures, Grover Whalen on WNYC, the radio station of the city of New York, the station which he fought to create and now will guide in the service of this city he holds so dear. Now we wish to bring you some great entertainment. Jones and Hare are here, the happiness boys themselves.

[applause]

Sarah Jones: "You're looking like the cat's pajamas tonight, pal." "Thanks, old top. Sorry, I can't say the same about you." "You could if you lied as well as I do." "You know, my wife made me a millionaire." "Oh, boy, that's swell. How'd she do it?" "Well, when we met? I was a billionaire."

[laughter]

"My son told me the other day that they're not allowed to wear trousers to school anymore." "Well, now, why is that?" "They all got suspended." "The other night, I met a very nice man, very smart. He had a wooden leg named Smith." "And what was the name of his other leg?"

[laughter]

"Did you hear about the fire at the shoe factory?" "No, what was that?" "A hundred souls were lost. Police said a couple of heels started it." "All right, that's enough there, Hare. It's starting to sound like you're on the toot."

We have a song prepared for you, the fine people of New York. If you've ever had a hard time understanding your friends down at the fruit stand on Delancey Street, this one is for you. It goes like this.

[MUSIC- Frank Silver and Irving Cohn: Yes! We Have No Bananas]

There's a fruit store on our street,

It's run by a Greek

And he keeps good things to eat,

But you should hear him speak.

When you ask him anything

He never answers 'no'

He just 'yesses' you to death

And as he takes your dough, he tells you:

Yes! We have no bananas,

We have no bananas today.

We've string beans and honions,

Cabbahges and scallions

And all kinds of fruit and say

We have an old-fashioned tomahto,

Long Island Potahto

And yes! We have no bananas,

We have no bananas today

[applause]

John Schaefer: Jones and Hare. Ladies and gentlemen, those jokes will never grow old, nor will our next honored speaker, at least not in his boundless energy for the people he serves. This is the Staten Island Borough president, Mr. John A. Lynch, on your municipal station, WNYC.

Sarah Jones: Good evening. How about those happiness, boys? Always an ideal situation for any politician to follow a comedy act. Tonight I'm here to round off this broadcast with a few thoughts about progress. You see, during my tenure as Staten Island Borough president, thank you, nothing has been more paramount, more immediate, than enacting progress. Already in this decade alone, Staten Island has enjoyed a massive population boom, one championed by our mayor, John Hylan, here tonight, whose policies have helped bring critical infrastructure projects to the island. Citizens can now drive on newly constructed roadways, so long, so winding, so seemingly endless, that we can rest assured there will never be any delays traveling by car through the wonderful borough of Staten Island.

[laughter]

Progress, real progress, is the natural byproduct of promise. You can see it and feel it all around you, this promise of a new tomorrow. On any given weekend, one might take a stroll in a neighborhood like Rosebank or South Beach, all lined with newly built colonial revival homes, filled with the jubilant sounds of small children playing and the comforting aroma of a Sunday gravy left simmering for hours.

[laughter]

The melding of old country traditions and new world enthusiasm, it is a palpable, infectious energy, an energy that awakens me in the morning and keeps me abuzz at night, dreaming of new ground to break, new progress to make. Now, speaking of breaking new ground, just last year the mayor joined us to commemorate the unveiling of a new subway line, this project that will soon connect Staten Island and Brooklyn. I can't think of anything that will stop this from happening.

[laughter]

I bring up progress tonight because we, at this very moment, have found ourselves gliding on an exciting wave of it with the grand unveiling of WNYC, a public radio organization that will act as a trumpet of progress, heralding new ideas, new policies, and new inventions. The list goes on. Information, education, knowledge. Together, they are the premise of progress. Let WNYC continue to inform and educate in equal measure to ensure and enact progress, staying true to the promise of this great city.

[applause]

John Schaefer: That was Mr. John A. Lynch, president of the Borough of Staten Island on WNYC. Now we bring you more music from Vincent Lopez and his orchestra, joined by the first lady of radio, Von Der Leith, to perform Give My Regards to Broadway.

[MUSIC - George M. Cohan: Give My Regards to Broadway]

Did you ever see two Yankees part upon a foreign shore?

When the good ship's just about to start for Old New York once more?

With tear-dimmed eye, they say goodbye

They're friends, without a doubt;

When the man on the pier shouts, "Let them clear!"

As the ship strikes out.

Give my regards to Broadway!

Remember me to Herald Square!

Tell all the gang at Forty Second Street

That I will soon be there!

Whisper of how I'm yearning

To mingle with the old time throng!

Give my regards to Old Broadway

And say that I'll be there, 'ere long!

Give my regards to Broadway!

Remember me to Herald Square!

Tell all the gang at Forty Second Street

That I will soon be there!

Whisper of how I'm yearning

To mingle with the old time throng!

Give my regards to Old Broadway

And say that I'll be there, 'ere long!

[applause]

John Schaefer: That was the first lady of radio, Von Der Leith, singing Give My Regards to Broadway by George M. Cohan. We are receiving regards from many well wishers around New York City tonight. Overjoyed to know that they now have WNYC in their service, our friends at WOR sent a message saying, welcome to the airwaves. We are also continuing to receive reports that the national democratic convention is continuing at Madison Square Garden. A candidate still has not been chosen by a majority of the delegates assembled there after the 93rd ballot. They remain divided between Alfred E. Smith, William G. McAdoo, and Samuel m. Ralston. We will have more news from the convention for you tomorrow, but for tonight, we are signing off on WNYC, New York City's own municipal radio station.

[music]

That is our show. Just a quick note that in the first evening there actually was a thunderstorm that interrupted Rodman Wanamaker's introduction of Mayor Hylan. That actually happened. We have all done our best to recreate some of what happened on this night 100 years ago, the first night of WNYC, one band played all of the music that you've heard tonight, the Afro-Latin sextet led by pianist Arturo O’Farrill .

[applause]

Arturo also did all of the arrangements of the music that you've heard. I'm not sure how this works, but somehow the sextet has seven members. David Bixler on saxophone. In the role of Senor Alonso from Catalonia, Spain, Heather Bixler. Jauncho Herrera playing the guitar. Ivan Llanes on congas and percussion. Zack O’Farrill on drums and comic punctuation. Bam Rodriguez playing the bass. The one and only J’Nai Bridges sang the national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, and Lucía Gutiérrez Rebolloso sang What'll I Do and Give My Regards to Broadway. Tony winner, Sarah Jones.

[applause]

Wait, wait, I have a long list. Sarah played Rodman Wanamaker, Queens Borough President Maurice E. Connolly, Staten Island Borough President John A. Lynch, and both halves of the comedy duo of Jones and Hare.

[applause]

Brooke Gladstone was Mayor John F. Hylan. LaFontaine Oliver was Commissioner Grover Whalen. I'm John Schaefer. A moment ago I was announcer Thomas Tommy Cowan.

[applause]

Most of the words you heard tonight were written by Delaney Britt Brewer and Jennifer Keeney Sendrow. Except for Mayor Hylan, those were his own words, edited from a much, much longer speech. Jennifer Sendrow also produced and directed the show. Ricardo Fernandez was our technical director. Our broadcast engineer, Chase Culpon, and the production team tonight included Eileen Delahunty, Marika Hacking, Jay Jiang, Andy Lancet, Gregory Pescia, Milton Ruiz, Dalila Sala, Eric Weber, Liz Weber, and Ryan Andrew Wilde.

[applause]

Special thanks to Steinway & Sons, whose piano Arturo is enjoying at this moment. If you missed part of the show or just want to hear it again, it's available on demand as both audio and video at wnyc.org/100. That is the same place that you'll find everything else dealing with our centennial. There's an historical timeline, on-air specials, and upcoming live events. Thank you all for listening, and happy 100th birthday, WNYC.

[applause]

[music] Those were his own words, and it is from a much, much longer speech.

[laughter]

Jennifer Sendrow also produced and directed the show.

[applause]

Ricardo Fernández was our technical director. Our broadcast engineer, Chase Culpon. And the production team tonight included Eileen Delahunty, Marika Hawking, Jay Jiang, Andy Lancet, Gregory Pescia, Milton Ruiz, Daleelah Saleh, Eric Weber, Liz Weber and Ryan Andrew Wilde.

[applause]

Special thanks to Steinway and Sons, whose piano Arturo is enjoying at this moment. If you missed part of the show or just want to hear it again, it's available on demand as both audio and video at wnyc.org/100. That is the same place that you'll find everything else dealing with our centennial. There's an historical timeline, on air specials and upcoming live events. Thank you all for listening and happy 100th birthday WNYC.

[applause]

[MUSIC]

 

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