Voice of America Radio Museum
When: Noon to 3 p.m. Saturday
Where: 8070 Tylersville Road, West Chester Twp.
Cost: Suggested donation $5 adults, $1 students
More info: voamuseum.org
WEST CHESTER TWP. — A vital part of local and national radio history will finally reopen to the public this weekend.
The Voice of America Museum located at 8070 Tylersville Road, West Chester Twp., will be open for tours for the first time in more than two years from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday.
The museum will be open on occasional Saturdays once or twice a month based on demand, said Ken Rieser, president of the board of directors. The museum had been closed for the past two years while undergoing renovation on its exterior.
The museum celebrates the history and legacy of the Voice of America radio station, which was broadcast from the museum’s location.
The VOA was built in 1943 to send radio messages, news and programing from the U.S. into Europe at the height of World War II. The station continued to operate throughout the Cold War, operating into the mid-90s, serving as a propaganda outlet as well as a way to inspire hope and keep listeners informed of world events in areas where the news was often censored.
“We’re very excited to finally be open to the public again,” Rieser said. “The museum offers a lot of fascinating exhibits and displays.”
The museum is a combination of three different museums, Rieser said.
The central part of museum is devoted to the Voice of America programming and includes the actual transmitter and control room. The media heritage room contains memorabilia from Cincinnati and Southwest Ohio’s rich history of broadcasting, including the Crosley Broadcasting Company, the founders of WLW Radio. A third museum is the Gray History Museum, which chronicles the history of the radio.
“That museum has all kinds of wireless radio artifacts and is comparable to the collection housed by the Smithsonian,” Rieser said.
The museum is in the process of raising $12 million to update and improve its displays. It will close again in a few months for a new roof and some additional repairs, though Rieser didn’t expect this second closure to be nearly as long.
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