Museum of Television and Radio
The
East Coast branch of
The Museum of Television and Radio is located in the heart of
Midtown Manhattan in
New York City (
USA), on 52rd Street between 5th and 6th Avenues. The West Coast branch is located near Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California. This museum is committed to the idea that many television programs are works of art to be preserved for posterity's sake. Instead of being a
museum of
artifacts and
memorabilia, the museum is mostly comprised of screening rooms, including two full-sized theatres. More than 120,000 television and radio programs are available in the museum's library, and during each visit, viewers can select and watch up to four television shows at an individual console. Some television programs date back to 1948, with radio programs dating back to the 1920s.
Seminars and interviews with industry luminaries are conducted frequently, all of which are recorded and available for viewing on individual consoles. Past seminar participants have included
Bob Hope,
Jack Paar,
Roy Huggins,
Lucille Ball,
James Garner,
Dick Cavett,
Al Franken, and dozens of others. Also available for viewing are seminars featuring the cast and production crew from many television shows. The museum has acquired many lost episodes of classic
television shows, and has produced
documentary features about the history and impact of television and
radio.
The museum obtains the television and radio shows via donations by people who happen to have copies of individual shows, and the museum agrees not to sell the material or permit it to leave the museum.
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