The magic of radio, its phenomenal advancement in recent years was
impressed spectacularly on the thousands of listeners in the WLAC area
when broadcast facilities switched from WLAC's old studios at 25th and
West End Avenue, to its new home in the Third National Bank building, in the flash of a second barely
detectable to eager ears.
Even more astounding was the fact that the shift was made in the middle of a sentence during a regularly-scheduled news-cast, and except for the change in voices, there was not even the slightest interruption in thought. Having announced previously their
intentions to defy convention and the relentless rush of time, the WLAC technical and announcing staff responded with perfect precision. Anything short of perfection would have meant failure.
So while listeners concentrated before their radios on the appointed
night, November 10th, as the Third National Bank news period got under way, Herman Grizzard, in the old studios, tingling with excitement, approached the sentence and the prearranged word which would mean the end of the faithful, old facilities.
Meanwhile, before him a copy of that same news story, the same sentence and the same final word significantly underlined, sat Tim Sanders, tense, alert, ready. The appointed word slipped from the lips of Herman Grizzard--a staccato cue flashed over the
lines, switches flipped with the speed of light, and in less time then it takes to think about it--matching the inflection of his predecessor, Tim Sanders was carrying on. But it was far less simple than that. A slow-motion camera would have recorded the routine like this... With the sounding of that last word from the old
studios, Operator Richard Turner was flashing the cue to the new studios. Engineer Charles Dorris at the transferring lines from one studio to the other and Operator Felix Riley at the new controls was opening the microphone for the continuation.
Actually, it all happened simultaneously.
The Third National Bank building, with WLAC studios and offices covering
the entire twelfth floor. (above)
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Herman Grizzard (left)
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Tim Sanders (right)
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