KVLY-TV mast
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| KVLY-TV Mast | |
 KVLY-TV mast seen close-up |
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| Building | |
|---|---|
| Type | TV mast |
| Location | Blanchard, Traill County, North Dakota |
| Owner | Hoak Media |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: |
| Construction | |
| Completed | August 13, 1963 |
| Height | 628.8 m (2,063.0 ft) |
| Main Contractor | Kline Iron and Steel |
| Design Team | |
| Architect | Hamilton Directors |
The KVLY-TV mast (formerly the KTHI-TV mast) is a 628.8 metres (2,063 ft) tall television transmitting mast in Blanchard, Traill County, North Dakota, USA, used by Fargo station KVLY channel 11. Although the Burj Dubai tower has surpassed its height, the KVLY-TV mast is still the world's tallest completed man made structure.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
The tower is located three miles west of Blanchard, North Dakota, which is roughly halfway between Fargo and Grand Forks. It became the tallest artificial structure upon the completion of its construction on August 13, 1963. The mast was surpassed in height by 18 m (57 ft) in 1974 by the Warszawa radio mast near Konstantynów, Poland, which later collapsed on August 8, 1991, making the KVLY-TV mast again the tallest structure on land. If completed as planned, the UAE's Burj Dubai, presently slated for completion in 2009, will surpass the mast as the tallest land structure. As of April 7, 2008, the official website for the Burj Dubai project reported that Burj Dubai has reached a height of 629 meters, which is 2064 feet, therefore surpassing the KVLY-TV mast by a foot. However, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat will not recognize the Burj Dubai figures as official until that building is complete.
The tower was built by Hamilton Directors and Kline Iron and Steel, and took thirty days to complete, at a cost of US$500,000 ($3.3 million in 2007 dollars).
Owned by Hoak Media of Dallas, Texas, the tower broadcasts at 316 kW for television station KVLY (channel 11, an NBC affiliate) which is based in Fargo. The tower provides a broadcast area of roughly 30,000 square miles (78,000 km²) which is a radius of about 97 miles.
Its overall height above mean sea level is 926 m (3,038 ft). Some time after its completion, the Federal Aviation Administration imposed a limit of 2,063 ft, based on this tower's height, on future construction; consequently, no taller structures may legally be built in the U.S. at present.[citation needed]
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 service elevator or ladder.
[edit] Images
 KVLY mast from a distance of about one mile (1.6 km) |
 Base of the tower |
 A guy-wire anchor |
 Guy-wires at base |
[edit] See also
[edit] Structures of similar height
- KXJB Tower (2060 ft - 627.8 m)
- KXTV/KOVR Tower (2049 ft - 624.5 m)
[edit] External links
- 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
| 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 |
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