Here’s what life was like in 1922 when KTAR first hit the airwaves
Jun 21, 2022, 11:00 AM
("Phoenix City Hall Exterior," McCulloch Brothers Inc. Photographs, CP MCLMB A504. Arizona State University Libraries: Arizona Collection.)
("Phoenix City Hall Exterior," McCulloch Brothers Inc. Photographs, CP MCLMB A504. Arizona State University Libraries: Arizona Collection.)
PHOENIX — KTAR this week celebrates 100 years on the airwaves in Phoenix, and suffice to say life was very different when the station debuted in 1922.
So let’s turn back the clock and see how 1922 compares to today and some items of note from the year KTAR launched.
Arizona Population
1922: 360,000
2021: 7,276,316
National Gas Prices
1922: $0.25 per gallon ($4.30 when adjusted for inflation)
2022: $4.98 per gallon
Cost of a Radio Advertisement
1922: $50, plus long-distance fees
2022: $200 to $5,000 per week, depending on various factors
RELATED STORIES
Fanny Brice’s “My Man,” Paul Whiteman’s “Three O’Clock in the Morning,” and Al Jolson’s “April Showers and “Toot Toot Tootsie (Goodbye).”
What Movies People Were Watching
“Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler,” “Robin Hood,” “Dancing the Twist in Bamako,” “Foolish Wives,” “Blood and Sand,” and “Oliver Twist.”
“Nosferatu” premiered in Germany in 1922 but it wouldn’t make its debut in the U.S. until 1929.
Sports Champions
New York Giants (MLB), Toronto St. Pats (NHL), Canton Bulldogs (NFL), California, Cornell and Princeton (NCAA Football)
Other Significant Events to Take Place in 1922
British Broadcasting Company was founded, the Ottoman Empire ended, USSR established, Lincoln Memorial was dedicated, the Rose Bowl Stadium built, the railroad shopmen’s strike occurred, Coca-Cola’s first polar bear print advertisement appeared, Haribo invented the gummy bear and Betty White was born.
