A century before the twin towers were built, the neighborhood that is now Ground Zero helped spark a radio revolution. It was the early 1920’s, and radio was considered a novelty. But within a few years, hundreds of radio stores popped up around Cortlandt Street in Lower Manhattan.
There was Leotone Radio, Cantor the Cabinet King, and Blan the Radio Man. The neighborhood became a bazaar of knobs, antenna kits, and radio tubes. It was the largest collection of radio and electronics stores in the world. But when developers planned the World Trade Center, it all had to go.
In this episode, we take a trip back to the neighborhood known as Radio Row.