KVLY-TV mast
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 KVLY-TV mast |
|
| Building | |
|---|---|
| Type | TV transmission tower |
| Location | Blanchard, Traill County, North Dakota |
| Owner | Hoak Media |
| Coordinates | 47°20′32″N 97°17′21″W / 47.34222°N 97.28917°WCoordinates: 47°20′32″N 97°17′21″W / 47.34222°N 97.28917°W |
| Construction | |
| Completed | August 13, 1963 |
| Height | 628.8 m (2,063 ft) |
| Main contractor | Kline Iron and Steel |
| Architect | Hamilton Directors |
The KVLY-TV mast (formerly the KTHI-TV mast) is a 2,063 ft (629 m) tall television-transmitting mast in Blanchard, Traill County, North Dakota, United States, used by Fargo station KVLY channel 11. It's considered the third tallest structure ever built, after Burj Dubai and the Warsaw radio mast (which collapsed in 1991).
Contents |
[edit] Overview
The tower is located three miles west of Blanchard, North Dakota, halfway between Fargo and Grand Forks. It became the tallest artificial structure upon the completion of its construction on 13 August 1963. The mast was surpassed in height by 57 ft (17 m) in 1974 by the Warszawa radio mast near Konstantynów, Poland, which collapsed on 8 August 1991, making the KNLY-TV mast again the tallest structure on land.
The still-under-construction Burj Dubai in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, planned for completion in December 2009, has surpassed the mast as the tallest land structure. As of 17 January 2009, Burj Dubai was reported to have reached a height of 818 metres (2,684 ft). However, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat will not recognize the Burj Dubai figures as official until that building is complete[citation needed].
The tower was built by Hamilton Electric Company York, South Carolina and Kline Iron and Steel, and took thirty days to complete, at a cost of US$500,000.
Owned by Hoak Media of Dallas, Texas, the tower broadcasts at 316 kW for television station KNLY (channel 11, an NBC affiliate) which is based in Fargo. The tower provides a broadcast area of roughly 30,000 sq mi (78,000 km2) which is a radius of about 97 miles (156 km).
Its height above mean sea level is 3,038 ft (926 m). Some time after its completion, the FCC and FAA imposed a policy that states, "Although there is no absolute height limit for antenna towers, both agencies have established a rebuttable presumption against structures over 2,000 feet above ground level."[1] The FCC and FAA may approve a taller structure in "exceptional cases."
The call letters of the television station for which it was built were originally KTHI, the "HI" referring to the height of the mast. The top is reachable by elevator or ladder.
[edit] Images
 KVLY tower from a distance of about one mile (1.6 km) |
 Base of the tower |
 A guy-wire anchor |
[edit] See also
- List of masts
- Tallest structures in the U.S.
- List of the world's tallest structures
- Warsaw radio mast
[edit] Structures of similar height
- KXJB Tower (2060 ft - 627.8 m)
- KXTV/KOVR Tower (2049 ft - 624.5 m)
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: KVLY-TV mast |
- KVLY Tower in the Structurae database
- Tower web page at KVLY-TV
- Listing 1046244 in the FCC Antenna Structure Registration database
- Listing on the Skyscraper Page
- http://www.skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?b471
- http://www.pbase.com/talshiarr/kvly
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Warszawa radio mast |
World's tallest structure 2,063 ft (628.8 m) 1991-2008 |
Succeeded by Burj Dubai (under construction) |
| Preceded by WIMZ-FM-Tower |
World's tallest structure 2,063 ft (628.8 m) 1963-1974 |
Succeeded by Warszawa radio mast |
|
|||||
