W9XAA, WCFL Chicago

The first television station in Chicago was W9XAA, which went on the air in 1928. It was the television arm of what was then the Chicago Federation of Labor’s WCFL radio. On June 19th, 1928, the station broadcast the head and shoulders of E. N. Nichols, the secretary of the Chicago Federation of Labor. U. A. Sanabria headed the television broadcasts, which were from Navy Pier. The station was built by A. J. Carter. Sanabria later started W9XAO and Western Television, which probably made more mechanical television sets than any other company in the United States.

WCFL's television equipment - June 12, 1928. M.L. Hayes at miccrophone; U.A. Sanabria and Virgil Schoenberg giving the demonstration.

Picture and information courtesy of Harry Moore 

The photograph above shows the newest television transmitter recently demonstrated from broadcast station WCFL Chicago (Stevens Hotel). The apparatus was designed and constructed by two Chicago engineers, M. L. Hayes and U. A. Sanabria. The system is similar to the Bell Telephone Laboratory arrangement and large photo electric cells are used. These cells will be observed in the cabinet directly in front of the subject who is here being televised. The amplifier cabinet is shown in the foreground on the table, together with a power amplifier just behind it. The amplifier is shielded electrically and mechanically.

The following articles are from WCFL Radio Magazine, published in the fall of 1928, announcing the introduction of television: