Radio Tower Demolition

www.pedestrians.org
Explosive demolition of four obsolete radio towers in Bethesda, Maryland. The towers had served station WMAL-AM from 1941 to 2018. Real time wide shot, followed by real time closeup, followed by 1/4 time slow motion.
The 75-acre property was sold for $74.1 million and will be used for a new housing development.
WMAL-AM is now WSBN-AM and shares a transmitter site in Germantown, MD.
Produced by John Z Wetmore, producer of "Perils For Pedestrians".

[@tomgauger949]

It's another nail in the coffin for local radio. There was nothing like WMAL in this city.

[@MrHenry1876]

Heart-breaking to see it going down.

[@jackg9581]

Harden and Weaver ghosts do not approve of this travesty.

[@nakayle]

Sad. :-( But happening to AMs all over the country. The land has become more valuable than the station.

[@ChrisSpil]

I see it happening everywhere, but what I really don't understand is, wasn't the original land property as valuable many years ago as it is now?

[@nakayle]

@@ChrisSpil No, many were built on cheap farm or vacant land miles out from the city but as cities grew they expanded outward until they reached these sites which made them become valuable for new houses and businesses to serve them.

[@ryansp5722]

Right by my house! It made the house shake

[@Bigtex124]

Great stuff!

[@senormedia]

They fell majestically

[@ronwade5433]

Amazingly satisfying!

[@lachlanslightsandfans]

Very cool

[@Kaczorek2366]

Will the construction of larger radio masts make the signal "go" further?

[@JohnZWetmore]

WMAL-AM (now WSBN-AM) is a Class B regional station, so the purpose of a new tower is not to expand its coverage area. Rather, they switched to a new transmitter site so they could sell off the valuable land at the old site.

[@TheShackGuy]

Is WMAL dropping AM and now strictly FM?

[@JohnZWetmore]

They changed their AM call letters to WSBN, and now share a transmitter site in Germantown.

[@johnfoltz8183]

First implosion in Montgomery county?

[@JohnZWetmore]

I don't think there have been many, but in June, 1997, they imploded a 6-story office building on Executive Boulevard in Rockville.

[@johnfoltz8183]

@@JohnZWetmore that I did not know

[@thevinylgrotto4767]

Sad

[@Ermac_Boss]

Where is that

[@JohnZWetmore]

Just outside the Washington Beltway, off Greentree Road. www.google.com/maps/@39.0147654,-77.1458381,3a,53.3y,68.36h,107.97t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sdygR6DAyd4ZqN8BNMyfwCQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en

[@cinnamon1209]

Radio tower 🏢

[@jtajr]

It was only a matter of time. That land is worth, what, a couple hundred million dollars at this point? (2020). SOMEONE is getting paid, and it's not me.

[@JohnZWetmore]

The 75-acre site sold for $74.1 million.

[@jtajr]

@@JohnZWetmore I see. Thank you for that!

[@johnfoltz8183]

Cheap sawdust and cardboard build townhouses are coming to this area with expensive prices.

[@NUCLEARARMAMENT]

@@johnfoltz8183 It'd be nice if houses were made out of stainless steel reinforced concrete.

[@HVACSirenTowerTrainFanFan2012]

I hate this