WBAP-TV - Channel 5

Founded by Amon G. Carter, noted publisher of the "Fort Worth Star-Telegram", the first progam--a public appearance, Sept. 27, 1948, by President Harry Truman--made Texas the sixteenth state in the nation to open a commercial station. Among other "Firsts" of WBAP-TV are the first live entertainment in Texas ("Flying X Ranchboys"), and first Texas colorcast via NBC-TV, 1954. Today Channel 5 serves aproximately 60 counties in Texas and Oklahoma. Since its birth, television has made many advances. In Washington, D.C., 1927, Herbert Hoover (at that time Secretary of Commerce) appeared on the first major telecast in the nation. In 1931, H. & W. Corset Company in New York conducted the first experimental use of closed-circuit television to display its models to a buyer and sold $5,000 worth of merchandise. Modern commercial telecasting did not begin, however, until 10 years later, when New York opened the first station in the country. After a slow start, major strides were made in 1947 and 1948. As of July 1, 1967, the U.S. had 628 commercial and 128 educational stations, with 224 under construction. Of these, Texas had 49 commercial and 5 educational.

WBAP-TV - Channel 5 is a historical marker in Fort Worth, Tarrant County, dedicated in 1983. It is one of 358 historical markers documented in Tarrant County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 501 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 32.7500, -97.2648 near Fort Worth. The nearest cataloged historic site is Meadowbrook Methodist Church (historical marker), about 0.5 miles away. Others within a short drive include Administration Building, Texas Wesleyan University, and Saint Mark United Methodist Church.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5439005680. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.