An important era in Oklahoma history came to a bittersweet end. It once stood nearly 1,600 feet tall, but Monday, the final portion of the KWTV tower was taken down.
The year was 1954 when News 9's broadcast tower was built, and KWTV, standing for "World's Tallest Video," reached the widest coverage of any station in the Southwest.
"We became known as the people with world's tallest man-made structure," said Jack DeLier, former KWTV General Manager.
The tower was studded with stars like Johnny Carson and Vera Ellen stopping by.
But the news business has changed. From analog to digital, News 9's signal moved to a different tower.
Sixty years later, the tower was left unused and ready to come down piece-by-piece.
The last part stood at only 290 feet tall.
"We'll have the tower lean towards the north, and then a cable that we have attached, we'll actually put some tension on it, so it reels the two temporary wires back, and down she goes," said Kevin Barber, owner of Tower King II, Inc.
Parts had to be blow-torched and wires were cut. Before an audience, the tall tower tumbled down.
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"They're kind of fun to drop, but they kind of make a mess to clean up," Barber said.
The tower will be taken apart even further, and the scrap metal will be recycled.
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