Hurricane Carol hits New England, toppling 400' of the 649' WBZ-TV transmitting tower.
click here for a 1948 view of building and tower

WNAC-TV CH 7 weathers the storm and returns as soon as electrical power is restored to the area.
WTAO-TV CH 56 returns the following day after repairs are made to it's transmission line on Zion Mountain.
WBZ-TV is back on-the-air that evening from a standby tower and antenna, located out of sight to the
 right of this picture. The 216 foot standby tower had previously come from the Westinghouse sister 
station in Pittsburgh in 1951, the antenna is WBZ-TV's original 3 bay batwing.  The 3 bay antenna 
was removed in 1951 to make way for a power increase to 100KW, which necessitated a new 6 bay antenna.

Backup was not part of the lexicon in 1954, although CH 4 did have a tower and antenna, 
it did not have a generator. TV  transmissions resumed at 9:10 pm after restoration of the public utility.

A 100 man emergency clean-up crew removed the debris of the tower within an hour to clear the roadway.
Films of the destroyed tower were made by WBZ-TV and fed to NBC-TV by the CBS affiliate, WNAC-TV.
Damage to the WBZ building and tower was estimated at half-million dollars with tower 
replacement estimated at a quarter-million..

Within the week, plans are made to move to a higher transmitting location and to return to full power.
The site chosen is the WEEI-FM tower in Medford, next door to WNAC-TV CH7.
WEEI-FM has a self supporting tower with a side mounted Andrew Multi-V antenna. (now WFNX)
The  CH 4 TV antenna is top mounted, and will operate from there, until the move to Needham in 1957.
The transmitter and support equipment are located in the garage of the WEEI-FM building.

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