Nashville radio tower recognized in the National Register of Historic Places

Legendary Nashville radio station 650AM WSM has added yet another achievement to its storied 85-year history with the inclusion of the station’s radio tower in the National Register of Historic Places. The 808-foot WSM broadcast tower and radio transmission complex, located in Brentwood, Tenn., was officially recognized in March 2011 by the National Park Service for the property’s “association with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history” and its “distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction.” The tower and surrounding structures qualified for the National Register in the Engineering, Architecture, Communications, Music and Military categories. “WSM is extremely proud to be included in the National Register of Historic Places,” says WSM Operations Manager and Program Director Joe Limardi. “Although WSM is best known for its 85-year association with Country music and as the radio home of the Grand Ole Opry, WSM was also an invaluable source of news and rural public service programming in its early days and even assisted our military’s defense efforts during the Cold War era. Since 1932, the WSM tower has been one of the most recognized structures in Nashville, and we’re thrilled that it is now recognized nationally as well.” The 50,000-watt WSM radio tower’s unique diamond shape, originally constructed by Blaw-Knox Steel Co. in 1932, has enabled the station to broadcast to as many as 38 states and Canada as a federally-designated, AM clear channel station. WSM’s sizable broadcast range, particularly in the evenings, was critical to the early national success of its Grand Ole Opry radio program. The WSM tower remains the oldest and tallest Blaw-Knox Diamond Radio Tower in the world. WSM’s historic tower and radio transmission complex is located on a 30-acre tract of land in Williamson County at 8012 Concord Road, Brentwood, TN, 37743. The historic complex served as a temporary home for the legendary station May 2010 – January 2011, when its permanent operations inside the Gaylord Opryland Resort were displaced by last spring’s disastrous Nashville flood. For more information about WSM and its history, visit www.WSMOnline.com.