AM Radio Vs. Old Buildings
I love old architecture. I love live local radio, AM in particular. We have a rare abundance of both in Buffalo. When I compare a similar rust belt city I am very familiar with, Cleveland, to Buffalo, in both regards, it makes me truly appreciate the treasures we have here in Western New York. Our talk radio station, WBEN AM 930, is phenomenal with both local talk show content and local news coverage. I remember once being stuck in Cleveland because Dead Man’s Curve on the I-90 had flooded. So I thought, WBEN In Buffalo would cover this in depth, as they did with the “Arborgeddon” October Surprise of 2006, so what is the radio equivalent in Cleveland? Well, I thought of common denominators here – WBEN carries both Rush Limbaugh and Coast to Coast AM, which I know are heavily-syndicated AM talk radio shows of the highest quality, so I decided to search who carried those programs in Cleveland, then I would probably stumble upon WBEN’s sister station, if you will. I found the woefully disappointing WTAM. No extensive news coverage of local, then-happening events. No local talk equivalents to WBEN’s Tom Bauerle, Sandy Beach or Ron Dobson to further expound about those events worth expounding upon. I had to guess when Dead Man’s Curve (shouts out to Jan & Dean as heard on WJJL singing its theme song on occasion) was passable again. So I stayed an extra day and hoped for the best, as the radio THERE sure wasn’t going to inform me! Well, today on WBEN, both Tom Bauerle and Sandy Beach were discussing the wonderful old architecture here in Buffalo. The Statler Hotel being saved. The Central Terminal(my favorite building of all time) re-use plan.
Buffalo Central Terminal
But to my disappointment, the hosts of these shows and many callers were railing against the preservation of the Statler (as $5 million in public funds are sought by the developer to rehab it), and touched on the Grain Mills (another love of mine) and were also against THEM as being worthy of the LaBrea tar pits. But both these classic buildings and the great local talk shows on this station are part of what makes Buffalo, BUFFALO, and makes me love this area. I feel torn when two such wonderful things are at odds with each other. Usually I enjoy these talk shows and their topics of discussion that can range from local, state and national politics, to weather emergencies and traffic updates when the weather makes driving tough, to issues of local concern of every variety imaginable. Well, WBEN has an awesome building of their own. The one near their broadcast towers, which looks so much from the same Art Deco school as the beloved Central Terminal it appears as if it came to life from the comic book pages of Gotham City. How’s that for a resolution? A real “two for one” there! A great local talk station that utilizes an incredible classic building. And without both, great buildings and great talk radio, Buffalo just wouldn’t be as awesome as it is! A true jewel in the rust belt crown it is!
WBEN's Transmitter Building