Where In The World Was WGNA? [Photos]
There’s this thing that’s been going on every Thursday on Facebook called Throw Back Thursday (#tbt), and I thought that I would do a story that might be considered a part of it.This past December, WGNA celebrated our 40th anniversary, and we’re still celebrating.
When 'GNA came on the air officially on December 5, 1973, the studios and offices were on the third floor of an old/historic bank building at 17 First Street in Troy.
Here's a quote that I received from former GNA guy Warren Garling - "We signed on with solid music, no disc jockeys, no breaks, just the legal identification (WGNA-F.M. Albany) at top and bottom of the hour on Wednesday, December 5, 1973 at 6pm. Programming started on Monday morning, December 10, 1973 at 6:00 a.m. with Jay P. Scott behind the microphone, and some newsman named Warren Garling doing the news."
Yours truly actually applied to do the overnight show in 1977, but didn’t get hired at that time. (The reason that 'GNA didn’t hire me is a possible future story.)
It was almost five years later, on December 5, 1978 that 'GNA moved out of Troy and moved into a beautiful mansion, called the Red Farm House, in East Greenbush. That was on what is now called Thompson Hill Road. I believe at the time the road was named Old Troy Road.
The station was housed in that building until August 1993, when the move was made to the Latham Circle Mall.
'GNA’s next move would be to our present location in the Pine Bush at 1241 Kings Road in Colonie. We moved into this location in May 2005.
Thanks to my friends and sources of history, former 'GNA guy Warren Garling and 'GNA’s John Stanley, for their help in my research for this story.