Washington DC, Nov. 28, 1944-- The Crosley Corporation, operator of radio station WLW in Cincinnati and other radio stations over the country, yesterday asked the Federal Communications Commission for authority to construct a new television station in Cincinnati.

With that brief announcement, an announcement barely noticed among World War II headlines, WLWT was born.

Construction of Cincinnati's first TV station actually began years earlier. The Crosley Radio Corp. began experimenting with TV signals in April 1937, the same year the company leased space on the 48th floor of Cincinnati's Carew Tower for a TV transmitter and broadcast studio. Two years later, Crosley engineers conducted the first limited TV demonstration in Ohio on the precursor to WLWT, an experimental station called W8XCT. It was a closed-circuit signal viewed only by Crosley employees and members of the press.

World War II slowed the development of all technology, but the Crosley Radio Corp. maintained its commitment to broadcasting by purchasing the Elks Temple at Ninth and Elm streets in the heart of downtown Cincinnati in 1942. The building, complete with two large ballrooms that were converted into studios, became the world-famous Crosley Square, home to WLWT until June 1999.

Even though Crosley Square was known best for the variety of TV shows originating from its studios, the first broadcasts had no pictures. Radio stations WLW and WSAI moved in first, in 1944.

On June 4, 1946, Crosley engineers transmitted the first television broadcast in Cincinnati from the W8XCT Carew Tower transmitter. Several blocks away, engineers in Crosley Square received the signal, which was a brief test pattern with no sound. Two days later, the station broadcast Cincinnati's first live TV signal. It featured a box of Borax detergent and was used to demonstrate the potential for advertising revenue. By August 1947, Crosley had committed W8XCT to a regularly scheduled one-hour weekly program. By the end of the year, programming had jumped to 20 hours each week, all for fewer than 100 televisions that existed in Cincinnati at the time.

The FCC granted Crosley a commercial license in January 1948, and W8XCT officially became WLWT one month later. In April, WLWT was named the first NBC affiliate in the country, although the station provided more than 40 hours of original, Cincinnati-based programming each week.

Crosley Square quickly became the primary stopping point in the Midwest. During the heyday of live television, Bob Hope, Doris Day, Red Skelton, Duke Ellington, Rod Serling, Jerry Lewis, Roy Rogers and Trigger were among those who appeared on such shows as Ruth Lyons' "50-50 Club" and the "Paul Dixon Show," followed in later years by Liberace, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Barbara Mandrell, Jesse Jackson, Liza Minnelli and Peter, Paul and Mary . By 1952, the station was the most prolific independent producer of NBC network programming. WLWT shows such as "Breakfast Party" and "Midwestern Hayride" were seen on NBC affiliates throughout the country as late as the 1970s.

By the mid-1980s, live and locally produced entertainment and variety programs were on the decline. The final episode of Bob Braun's "Braun & Co." talk show in 1984 marked the end of an era in which Cincinnatians could count on seeing their friends and family applauding politely from the Crosley Square studios. But as the station's star in variety and entertainment programming dimmed, its dominance in local news rose.

WLWT news, led by anchors Norma Rashid and Jerry Springer, rose to the top of the Nielsen rankings in 1987 and remained there for nearly five years. Springer left the newsroom in 1993 to host "The Jerry Springer Show."

Despite its rich history and instrumental role in the development of television, Crosley Square was not built to meet the demands of producing a modern newscast. The studio was on the fifth floor. The newsroom was in the basement. Editing and production rooms were scattered on the floors in between. On several occasions, Crosley Square's ancient elevator trapped anchors and reporters between floors as they hurried to the studio for a broadcast.

Hearst-Argyle, WLWT's owner since 1997, recognized the limitations of Crosley Square and moved the station to its current building at 1700 Young St. in June 1999. The building is nestled into a hillside overlooking Cincinnati's skyline and historic Over the Rhine neighborhood. The new WLWT Eyewitness News 5 studios, the first in Cincinnati to broadcast a digital signal, are the most modern in town.