I'll admit reading this makes me a little sad. When you visit Columbia Square, the sense of history is palpable -- you expect to see Jack Benny or Fred Allen roaming the halls.

As for the old Cal Fed tower, one of my fondest memories as a kid was putting soap powder in a very ugly fountain fronting the building near the Hauser side. Of course, I also remember that one of the first things I did after the '71 quake was to go outside as soon as it got light to see if the damn thing was still standing. *smile*

I was wondering the same about KNX and KFWB-- I work next door, and it truly is time consuming trying to get down to the 10 via La Brea or Fairfax during the day.

As for KCAL and KCBS, it's looking more and more likely that they'll be moving to CBS' Radford lot in Studio City sometime in the coming years. (There's also a strong possibility that CBS Entertainment may vacate Television City in the Fairfax district and join them there.)
Soon enough, KTLA will be the last TV station standing in Hollywood; just a few years ago, KABC, KTTV and KWHY also called the area home.

Here's a bonus trivia question: Columbia Square is actually not the original home for KCBS-TV (then called KNXT). Any of you know where the station originally resided? (Sorry, no prize, other than the satisfaction of knowing you're a local TV nerd like me.)

I was not able to access the Business Journal article. Does it say what will become of Columbia Square? Sold? Renovated? Razed?

Answer to Mike's trivia question: The Don Lee Building, 1000 Van Ness Ave.

David, you got it half right. Indeed, it was the Don Lee Building -- but 1000 Van Ness is the address of the old Don Lee Building in San Francisco.

Here, the Don Lee-Mutual Broadcasting studios were located at 1313 N. Vine. KNXT/KCBS was there until the early 60s -- and, strangely enough, so was KHJ-TV, which later became KCAL. (Both were separately owned, but shared the address for a period of time.) Who knew that decades later, Channels 2 and 9 would once again fall under the same roof!

As for the old Don Lee-Mutual Broadcasting building, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences now owns it and houses its Academy Film Archive there.

Actually, to clarify why Channels 2 and 9 both shared the 1313 Vine studios: Don Lee originally launched and owned Channel 2, before selling it to CBS. He continued leasing the studios to CBS but also bought Channel 9, which is why both KNXT and KHJ-TV shared the building for a while.

And that concludes your local TV history lesson for the day!

KCBS/KCAL is going to Radford, says it's own studio newsletter in Jan. 2003:

"Plans are currently underway to further develop the CBS Studio Center North Lot into the new home of KCBS and KCAL, along with five radio stations. We are in the very early stage of analysis and design. Preliminary meetings have taken place with the City of Los Angeles and the residents of Studio City to explain our proposal. Early reaction has been positive. The project is expected to take three years to complete and we are hoping to make the move from Columbia Square, at Sunset and Gower, early in 2006. Al Ellena will represent the Studio during the design development and construction process. We will keep you posted as plans develop."

Source: http://www.cbssc.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm (See Jan.-Feb. 2003)

Maybe that fell apart, and that's why the radio stations are elsewhere, but there's been talk -- at least.