CBS and NBC
Open Shop in Hollywood

“Last week the Columbia Broadcasting Systems announced [the construction of] a $1,000,000 Pacific Coast radio-center… By next October, a neon light will flash ‘CBS’ over the modern glass brick structures designed by famed modern architect William Lescaze (1896 – 1969).”

Mayor LaGuardia of New York had to take that one on the chin. The city of Los Angeles scored a point in its competition with the Big Apple when New York broadcasting executives came to realize that movie stars don’t like traveling to their town to work for only a few minutes before the radio microphones. Seeing the writing on the wall, these far-seeing corner-office boys at CBS made a decisive step indicating their allegiances to movie stars over Broadway actors and moved West.

Like everyone who stays in LA too long, the CBS building got a facelift. It now contains 200 apartments, a restaurant and some predictable retail establishments.