THE NEW (SECOND) WDSU AM-FM-TV STUDIOS...1950
Page 4
Post card announces the opening of new WDSU studios
WDSU-TV moved to a new offices and studio facility at 520 Royal Street, the
Brulatour Residence, in New Orleans' historic Vieux Carre' The new studio
facility also housed WDSU AM radio, formerly located in the Monteleone
Hotel.
The Broulatour Residence at 520 Royal Street in the Vieux Carre'
The gates in the above picture at the end of the porte cochere
(carriage way) opened to allow visitors to the Brulatour Residence and
WDSU to view and to photograph the courtyard which is probably the most
photographed site in New Orleans. Those stately wrought-iron gates became
the noted symbol of a great broadcasting organization, the Royal Street
Corporation, owner of WDSDU AM-FM-TV.
The residence was built in 1816 by Francois Seignouret, a wine importer,
who came to New Orleans from Bordeaux, France. Monsieur Seignouret built his home just after the Battle of New Orleans in which he fought
valiantly with Andrew Jackson's forces on the fields of Chalmette near the
site of the present WDSU-TV antenna and transmitter. Seignouret was also
known as a maker of fine furniture. An "S" worked into the design of the
wrought iron railings of the Royal Street balconies recalls his ownership
of the Vieux Carre' property.
After Monsieur Seignouret died, the mansion was acquired by wine merchant
Pierre Brulatour, whose name the residence still carries. In the days of
Seignouret and Brulatour, carriages entered the porte cochere from Royal
Street, passed through the gates and circled the graceful courtyard
centerpiece before stopping to discharge their passengers.
The brick building across the back of the courtyard was originally a
stable and hayloft. The stairway in the Spanish arch to the left of the
courtyard once rose to the residence's slave quarters and kitchen. It now
leads to several WDSU office spaces, where no comment about the area
being slave quarters has ever been heard. The television and radio studios
could be entered via several doors opening on to the courtyard and also
from the mansions main entrance in the porte cochere.
In the early days of the twentieth century, the Brulatour Residence was
acquired and restored by philanthropist William Radcliffe Irby. It was
then that the huge, magnificewnt organ was installed on the third floor
in the walls of the third floor. It still functions and for many years
WDSU-TV staffers enjoyed concerts by WDSU's music director, Pete Laudeman.
At the annual WDSU Christmas party, Pete played Christmas carols for the
enjoyment of both WDSU staffers and invited guests.
The Audition Room of the Broulatour Residence
WDSU-TV salesmen and clients met to discus the buisness of television
time buying in the beautiful Audition Room. Upper level staff meetings were
also held in the Audition Room. The room also provided equipment for sales
personnel, program personnel and clients to preview new programs and
commercials.
The new studios were housed in a large, newly constructed Quonset hut
erected in the center of the block bounded by Royal Street, Toulouse Street,
Chartres Street and St. Louis Street. The site had been occupied for many
years by the Kross Lumber Company. A parking lot, adjacent to the Brulatour
Residence, stretched along St. Louis Street from Royal Street to Chartres
Street. The lot was originally the site of the St. Louis Hotel. Soon after
WDSU AM-FM-TV moved to Royal Street, the Royal Orleans Hotel, an Edgar Stern
investment, was erected on the lot. An artist's conception of the new studio
facility is displayed below.
Artist's conception of the new WDSU-TV Royal Street studios
First level floor plan
WDSU AM -FM studios are on the right (St. Louis Street side of the studios)
When the radio studios were moved to a building across Royal Street from
the Broulatour Residence, the radio studios shown in the above plan became
WDSU-TV News Department offices and work areas.
Second level floor plan
The new radio studios
Studio "A"
Studio "C"
Radio studio "C", shown above, eventually became the main work room of the
WDSU-TV News Department. It also served as a on-air studio for some of the
stations newscasts. Studio "C" became News Department office space.
The disk lathes of the recording facilities
The new television studios
Control Tower
The "Glass Tower" main control room of the new WDSU-TV studio was situated
on the Royal Street side of the studio. A hallway led from the reception desk
in the office area in the Broulatour Residence to the studio entrance.
Inside the studio a stairway rose to the control room. Seen at the stairway
in the above picture is Ray Liuzza and an unidentified guest. Ray and his
father, Item newspaper reporter Ted Liuzza, later became owners of a large,
new hotel in the city.
The first level of the tower was occupied by the projection room. Some of
the equipoment, including the two RCA TP16 16mm film projectors and the
RCA film camera chain are shown below.
Engineering/Camera Control on the second level in the tower
The master switcher on the Operations Director's desk in the tower
(A step-down level from the engineering control area)
Thr rack to the right of the "OD" master switcher contains an early
attempt at television station automation. It was manufactured in England
and bore the somewhat ceyptic nickname of "FRED". Engineers later learned
that "FRED" was the British XXXXXXXXX for "Fxxxxxx Ruddy Electronic Device"
It is to be noted that "Fred" did not do the job and was relegated to the
trash bin.
The large studio was later modified so that it could be partitioned into
two completely separate studios by an enormous electrically controlled
folding wall allowing independent, simultaneous, two-studio operation.
The main control room (above picture) was assigned to studio "A", the area
in the foreground of the above picture and in the picture below, at the
St. Louis Street side of the building. Studio "B" was the area in the
background showing a boxing ring in the center and the kitchen set to
the left. A control room for Studio "B" was established on the second
level over the Toulouse Street garage area.
STUDIO "A"
Cameramen George Cuccia (cam #1 at the far left) and Cameraman Buddy Rizzuto
(cam #2 at the far right) focus on former Cameraman Irwin F. Poche', Jr.,
then a WDSU-TV Producer/Director, Mel Leavitt and an unidentified guest.
Another cameraman, Mel Price, stands by camera #2 to watch the show along
with an unidentified male and female in the picture.
STUDIO "B"
Studio "B", at the Toulouse end of the structure, was
controlled by a small "satellite" control room built above a garage which
led from studio "B" to an exit to Toulouse Street. Along the wall between
the garage and the studio, a permanent kitchen set was erected. The set
as used in a cooking demonstration segment of the popular "Midday" show
featuring Chef Paul of Brennans Restaurant in the Vieux Carre', as well as
for other "stand-alone" cooking shows. One of the wonderful ladies who
were featured in those programs was Lena Richards. Others who were featured
in the WDSU-TV kitchen set were Amanda Lee, Marie Mathews, and Scoop Kennedy.
WDSU-TV was probably the only television facility to have three world class
chefs on the staff at the same time. With a maximum of 45 engineers on the
staff at time, none of the dishes produced on the cooking shows in the kitchen
set ever was wasted.
Shown in the above picture enjoying a party in the Studio "B"
kitchen set celebrating the 1st anniversary of Lena Richard's cooking
program are (L to R) Cameraman Joe Budde, an unidentified lady,
Projectionist Michael Kirk, Lena Richards, Engineer Paul Yacich, former
Cameraman Ken Muller, then a WDSU-TV Producer/Director, Cameraman Joe
Samul, who later became one of the VIP's of ESPN. Unfortunately, the
gentlemen facing away from the camera as well as the visiting VIP's are
not identified.
"Scoop Kenedy and Marie Mathews are two more of the great Channel 6 chefs.
They are shown in the above picture in the WDSU-TV studio "B" kitchen set
with Announcer, Jack Alexander.
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