History
WFIL was formed by a merger of two stations that were launched in 1922. One used the call letters WFI, the other was originally WDAR. Each was owned by a major Philadelphia department store; WFI was operated by Strawbridge and Clothier, while WDAR was run by Lit Brothers. While operated independently of each other, the two were able to work out amicable share-time agreements (hundreds of other American stations at the time were unable to do so, and frequently engaged in "jamming wars"). Around 1924, WDAR applied for and received the custom call-sign WLIT. By the late 1920s, the two stations were working jointly on various programs, promotions, and sponsorship efforts. In 1935, the two operators agreed to merge with each department store having representation on the new board of directors. The new call-sign became WFIL, a combination of the two previous identifiers (the fact that the new call letters were close to a phonetic spelling of "Philadelphia" was merely a happy coincidence). The new WFIL was an affiliate of NBC; some sources say the station never became established as either a "basic Red" or "basic Blue" outlet, but at least one early WFIL advertisement claimed that it was a "basic Blue" station. Westinghouse's KYW had replaced WFI-WLIT as the NBC primary for Philadelphia when it moved in from Chicago a few years before. Starting in December 1944 the station produced Hayloft Hoedown, picked up by ABC Radio in 1945.
WFIL was purchased in 1947 by Walter Annenberg's Triangle Publications, which also owned The Philadelphia Inquirer. By then WFIL was an affiliate of the newly-named ABC Radio Network. WFIL's sister stations under Triangle Publications ownership were WFIL-FM and WFIL-TV in Philadelphia; WNHC AM-FM-TV in New Haven, Connecticut; KFRE AM-FM-TV in Fresno, California; WFBG AM-FM-TV in Altoona, Pennsylvania; WNBF AM-FM-TV in Binghamton, New York; and WLYH-TV in Lancaster/Lebanon, Pennsylvania. Triangle Publications sold WFIL AM-FM-TV to Capital Cities Broadcasting in 1971 with the radio stations spun off to new owners, WFIL to LIN Broadcasting and WFIL-FM to Richer Communications which changed the call letters to WIOQ. WFIL-TV took on the new call letters of WPVI-TV.
| WFIL Studio | |
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
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| Location: | 4548 Market St. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
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| Coordinates: | 39°57′28.56″N 75°12′47.08″W / 39.9579333°N 75.2130778°W / 39.9579333; -75.2130778Coordinates: 39°57′28.56″N 75°12′47.08″W / 39.9579333°N 75.2130778°W / 39.9579333; -75.2130778 |
| Built: | 1948 |
| Architect: | Savery, Scheetz & Gilmour; Levy,Abraham |
| Architectural style: | Moderne, Other |
| Governing body: | Private |
| NRHP Reference#: | 86002092 |
| Added to NRHP: | July 28, 1986 |
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